Coraline II: Pins & Needles
by Flikaline Rosalka
Summary: Coraline is twelve and is starting a new year at school. She feels that she has finally got over her experience in the other world and everything is just how it should be, that is, until the Other Mother turns up. Written from Coraline's POV
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One

It didn't feel any different being twelve rather than eleven, I didn't look any different either apart from my hair being a couple of inches longer and perhaps being a little taller.

By the time I was about to start seventh grade, I though my thoughts about what had happened had completely gone from my mind at last. Of course they had not gone altogether; how could they? But at least I thought it would be better than before; at least there were no more nightmares, and not to mention the jab incident; I tried not to look at the needle, I really did. I know that in logic I should've been more scared of buttons in a way but needles were long and sharp and they were the things which were used to sew the buttons . . .

I guess it was kinda dumb to think the other kids would believe me. As if starting at school wasn't bad enough especially in the middle of term, never mind when you're recovering from THAT! And then to give a really bad first impression and be labeled as 'that girl who tells crazy stories about Other Mothers' or as one of the other girls called me, 'button-eye girl' and the like.

I gave up after a while trying to explain and tell them that it was true. The only kid who knew that it was all true was Wybie but he wasn't much help at all; all he does is just sit over in a corner looking awkward.

He had helped me in other ways though; well, he had tried to anyway. I couldn't see how giving me a bunch of skeleton keys was much help. It wasn't like I would want to get back in there was it! I guess he thought that it might be a comfort to know that if I did get back in there, I could get out again.

Although my parents could not remember being trapped in a snow globe. They had come over when Wybie and I had only just started telling Miss Lovat what had happened. It would've been awful if they hadn't believed me when I told them but with Miss Lovat's support and the fact that I had told them about what a great time had been having the day after, they believed me. Of course, if they hadn't believed me then, they would've believed me after the nightmares I had.

At first, I thought that I hadn't been affected too much by the experience. It was a few days later that I realized I had been; that was when I had the first nightmare. I woke up screaming. I had slept in my parents' bed for the rest of the night with the door locked so that I might feel safer.

A single friendly smile was able to make me shiver for a time at school, not that I often got one; it was more often a smirk if anything. There were a few nice kids though; there was Neila, we were sorta friends, but she had loads of friends; perhaps she was kinder because she could relate to not so good situations.

She lived with her parents who seemed to be continually arguing, and, her little sister, Yalia, who was six and starting at the elementary school that year. (The school had an elementary school, a middle school and a high school).She was affected a lot more by the rows than Neila.

Of course there was Wybie, and I felt most comfortable with him because he knew what had happened; he had been involved at the end hadn't he? He had helped get rid of that hand and throw the key down that ancient, old well. I thought we were safe. We should've burnt the key or something, like with that doll.  


* * *

It was the first day back from summer vacation and I was really hoping things would be better this year. The first thing I found out was that our would-have-been-principal had mysteriously disappeared and as there was no deputy, had had to be replaced at the last minute with a substitute. But that didn't matter that much. What real difference could it make?

It was the second thing that worried me. Not long after we entered the classroom we were told that we were going to have lessons in . . . NO! Not sewing! Anything but that! Could it possibly get any worse? Of all things! I couldn't think of anything worse (In this world anyway).

'There have never been sewing lessons in our school before,' Wybie said, 'wonder who'll be teaching us,'

'I heard our new principal will be,' Neila replied.

'That's a bit of an odd thing for a principal to teach, isn't it?' I asked.

'I suppose it is,' Neila responded.

'Maybe she's not actually qualified . . .' Wybie began.

'Who?' we both said together.

'Our new principal, maybe she was the only person they could find available in the short time. Principals normally seem to teach Math or English or something like that.' I suppose Wybie had a point but my mind was preoccupied with the thought of sewing . . .

'Oh, Coraline, you're not still scared of needles are you?' Neila asked. I felt awkward. 'Did you have an accident with a sewing machine when you were younger or something?' I didn't say anything. I had told her what had happened but, just like everyone else, she hadn't believed me.

'Don't worry, I've met the principal; she seems to be very nice.' Wybie reassured me. Well, at least Wybie thought our teacher wasn't too bad . . .

'Oh, Coraline,' Neila suddenly said, 'I was going to ask you, there are team trials on Wednesday, could you possibly look after my little sister until my parents arrive?'

'Huh? Oh, yeah, sure,' I replied rather unnaturally, still feeling concerned.

* * *

The first lesson would be after lunch. I spent the majority of recess in a cubical in the girls' bathrooms trying to reassure myself. There was no reason to be frightened of needles unless they were in the wrong hands, and they wouldn't be. The door was locked, the key was gone . . .

I was so wrapped up in my own thoughts that I didn't hear the bell and ended up being late. I tore down the empty corridors and burst into the room breathless.

'It seems we have a latecomer,' the adult said. That voice! No, my mind was surely playing tricks on me; yes, it was due to the thought of sewing . . . 'Are you going to give us an explanation as to why you are late?' she asked, her back still turned to me. I didn't want her to turn round. I feared what I would see. Please just let this be a trick of the mind! 'Well?'

'I-I-I f-forgot a-about the t-time . . .' I stuttered. I felt terrified; no, this couldn't be happening!

'Oh, you forgot; really . . . We've been waiting for you,' She turned toward me, 'Coraline,'

It had not been my mind. I wish it had been. If I hadn't frozen to the spot, I would've bolted from the room. She looked almost the same as the first time I met her, and the second, and part of the third, the only differences as far as I could see being her clothes and the pink rimmed shades which had particularly dark lenses she was wearing which I knew, if she took off, would reveal, a couple of black button eyes.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

She gave that same smile. How had she managed to get out without the key? Or how did she get hold of it? It didn't matter, not then. However she had done it, she was there right infront of me.

'Are you going to sit down?' she asked. I hesitated; my instincts told me to run but I had to remind myself that, weather I liked it or not, she was my teacher; and with a sudden jolt I realized she was also the principal. How could this have happened? I sat down between Neila and Wybie.

'How did she know your name?' Neila asked in a whisper.

'Oh, Coraline and I have met before . . .' the adult told her before I had the chance to reply. She looked down at Neila's piece of cloth, 'You seem to be picking this up quite quickly, um . . .'

'Neila,'

'Neila. Let me show you how to end off . . .' I shuffled my seat away from them.

When she had finished helping Neila, I still hadn't done a thing. Whenever I looked at the needle, thread and cloth infront of me, I saw that six sided box: the buttons, the thread, the needle . . .

'Can't you thread your needle, Coraline, dear?' The Other Mother asked me in her creepily sweet voice. I hesitated.

'Coraline's afraid of needles,' Neila told her. One of the other girls snorted. It was obvious to me that the Other Mother found this very amusing. 'Can't imagine why,' Neila continued. I glared at her.

'Neither can I,' the Other Mother replied with a small smile before turning back toward me, 'sewing is very simple once you get the hang of it . . .' I didn't want to get the hang of it! I wanted the day to end as soon as possible! But there was still 70 minutes to go!

She threaded my needle for me. I leaned as far as possible away. It was only then I noticed that her right hand was fake. I quickly remembered that I had shut the door on the real one. It served her right! But I couldn't help feeling a tiny bit guilty. I didn't want to and I didn't see why, but I did.

She put an arm round me; my muscles tensed. She passed me the needle; I took it gingerly and held it as far away as possible. She gave a small laugh,

'Just move the needle in and out of the fabric.' I suppose it was quite simple really but it felt so wrong. After all, it had been sewing which had been used to spy and trap my parents and myself. How could I feel comfortable?

At last she left me to look at everyone else's work; she soon returned to Neila who was doing cross stitch. I didn't look up; I was concentrating on not poking myself with the needle as I worked. Looking back on it, I wish I had.

'Are you sure you haven't done this before, Neila?' she asked, 'An older sibling hasn't shown you?'

'No,' Neila replied, 'I do have a sister but she's only six.' The Other Mother seemed interested,

'Oh, really? And does your little sister come to this school?' she asked. Neila nodded before pushing a few strands of her brown hair off her face.

'Miss Dam,' one of the boys asked, 'can you come and help me?'

60 minutes to go. My needle came unthreaded. I picked it up slowly and carefully and tried to rethread it unsuccessfully. Tessany, the same girl who had snorted at me before, began to laugh.

'Looks like button eye girl can't thread her needle which ever way she looks at it!' she sniggered. Over half the class started laughing too. As if it wasn't bad enough!

'Coraline, do you want me to rethread your needle for you?' the Other Mother asked. The amount of laughter increased. I felt frustrated.

'No I don't!' I replied rather grumpily and a little impertinently.

'Don't use that tone of voice with me!' I felt incredibly angry. I glared at her. She glared back. My anger suddenly surged. It was her fault! If it wasn't for her I wouldn't have been afraid of needles in the first place! If it wasn't for her the majority of the class wouldn't be laughing at me; Tessany wouldn't be continually picking on me! The whole school wouldn't think I was a total freak! I would have more friends! I stood up.

'Why shouldn't I!' I yelled back.

'I'm warning you, Coraline . . .' Each syllable she said sounded more dangerous but I didn't care. Wybie pulled at the sleeve of my shirt. I turned my head toward him.

'Jonesy, you should really sit down,' he whispered, 'arguing with her isn't going to make things any better.' Slowly, I sat down. I knew Wybie was right. The Other Mother's anger partially subsided; she was satisfied that I had given up and that she had complete control once again.

'We can back to sewing,' she began, 'now that we have learnt to respect our teachers, so . . .' I never gave her the chance to finish. I had stood up again.

'You deserve no respect!' I snarled without even thinking. I stared. Was it just me, or was she getting taller? Was she reverting to her true form? Fear overtook me and I dashed for the door. I raced down the corridor as fast as my legs could carry me before stopping to catch my breath and realizing how rash my decision had been but what should I do? Get home: that was my first thought; Tell Mom and Dad. They would understand. They knew enough about what had happened before. I needed to get to the coatroom. I had left my bag and coat there before lunch. All I needed to do was get past the head of high school's office.

Luckily, Mrs. Phils was out teaching that afternoon.

Once I got to the coat room, I hurriedly put my jacket on and grabbed my bag. I was just about to go back the way I'd come when,

'Coraline! Come on out!' Oh, no! It was Her! She'd come to look for me! 'Where are you hiding, Coraline?' I could tell she was treating the situation as a game. I gave a shudder. _I've gotta get outta here!_ I thought, _But how am I gonna get out without being noticed?_

The room was divided into two sections; one for each grade of the middle school but there was only one door going in and out. If I went out, she would catch sight of me within a few seconds.

I slowly crept toward the door and carefully opened it about a few inches, just enough that I could see out into the corridor. She was facing away from me, looking in some large book cupboards. Should I make a break for it? I opened the door a tiny bit more.

I was about to run out when she began to turn. In panic, I allowed the door to slam. I silently cursed myself. She knew where I was now!

I quickly looked around; I needed somewhere to hide! I quickly concealed myself among the sports bags. I heard the door open and close. Then footsteps. I desperately hoped she wouldn't find me.

The footsteps paused every so often and I heard the rustling of coats and bags as she searched. The sound became fainter as she walked toward the far side of the coatroom. I knew it was only a matter of time before she found me. The best thing to do was to take the chance while I had it. I quietly moved the bags and silently as I could toward the door.

As I reached it, I heard her footsteps moving fast and then saw her come into view. I was surprised she hadn't changed form. I froze.

'Aha! There you are!' Her tone was triumphant and even through her disguise, she still managed a sickening grin. 'Now, darling, I think we can sort this out. If you'll just come with me . . .'

I grabbed the door handle and opened the door. In a flash, I was racing down the corridors, toward a side door which lead outside, toward the school gate.

'Get back here!' the Other Mother yelled after me. I increased my speed. 'Get back here or I'll make you wish you'd never been born!' _Gotta keep goin', gotta get to the gate, gotta get home . . . _

I could barely feel my legs, I could hardly breathe, my hair was matted with sweat, my school shirt clung to me.

When I reached the gate, I found it was locked by a padlock. I hurriedly searched thru my bag and found one of the skeleton keys Wybie had given me. Would it fit the lock? It did but when I twisted it, the padlock didn't open. I was for it now.

Wait, did I twist it the right way? I tried again and it unlocked. I opened the gate and quickly shoved the key into one of my pockets.

'CORALINE!' she yelled in utmost frustration. I didn't even dare glace behind me before sprinting out of the grounds and onto the sidewalk. I ran home, stopping frequently to catch my breath. I thought she would follow me, but she didn't.

I ran up the path toward the house, passed the hedges which had been added a few months before. My mother was walking out the door (most likely to come to collect me from school) when I called out to her. She looked up in surprise and shock as I arrived puffing and panting.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

'Sh-sh-she's . . .' I tried to begin, 'She's . . .'

'Coraline! You should be at school! Whatever is the matter?'

'I only just escaped!' I exclaimed through my panting. I suddenly noticed the black cat lying in the sun on his stomach close by.

'Coraline, what are you on about?'

'She's back! The Other Mother!' I told her. The cat sat bolt upright but my mother didn't react at all in the way I expected. She gave a heavy sigh.

'Oh, Coraline, you were hallucinating.'

'Huh?'

'Seeing things,'

'Mom! No!' Not after all that! She had to believe me! She just had to.

'When did it start?'

'When I arrived at the sewing lesson,' I replied. She gave another sigh and rolled her eyes, 'No, Mom! It's not how you think!' I cried, 'It was really her! You've gotta believe me!' I was starting to feel incredibly desperate. This couldn't happen! She couldn't not believe me! 'Mom, please!' I begged. What had been the point of running all the way home, of running in the first place? I would be in so much trouble if she didn't believe me and I don't mean just from running off. She could sense that I was thinking about getting into trouble.

'What have you done?' she asked with a sigh.

'Well . . . But Mom!'

'I'll find your father.' She unlocked the door again and went back into the house. What was I gonna do now? I followed her in miserably. My father came down the hallway toward us. 'What is it Charlie?' My mother asked him.

'We just had a phone call,' he replied, 'from Coraline's principal,' I felt a sudden dread. 'She wants to see us.'

* * *

'I'm afraid we had a terrible misunderstanding . . .' The Other Mother was saying to my parents. I was standing outside her office in the corridor. Mom and Dad couldn't possibly be buying it, could they?

'Hey, Coraline,' someone whispered. I turned my head. I hadn't noticed Neila coming up the corridor, 'How much trouble are you in?'

'I don't know,' I murmured not looking at her. I wanted to tell her the truth but I knew she wouldn't believe me.

'Well, this will cheer you up; Orto's coming back.'

'What? Really?' I replied, my face lighting up. Orto had been in our class the previous year but had told us that he was moving to Spain at the end of the previous term. I was so pleased that the thought didn't even cross my mind to wonder why. I had felt pretty bummed when I had found out. Orto was blond, and had blue eyes. He was athletic and cute . . .

'Really. I thought you would be pleased. _She _told us at the end of the sewing lesson.' Neila replied, indicating toward the office. 'Oh, guess what! Miss Dam said she'd give me private sewing lessons after school!'

'Oh, um, that's nice . . .' I answered a little awkwardly.

'She says I have a great talent!' I didn't know what to make of it. I didn't have another moment to dwell on this thought, however. The three adults were evidently about to come out. 'I'd better go!' Neila said quickly, 'See you tomorrow!' She hurried away as the door slowly opened.

'Oh, she'll be fine by tomorrow . . .' my mother was saying. I looked at the three of them uneasily, not really sure what to think or feel.

'It's alright, Coraline,' the Other Mother said in a reassuring but still her usual sweet tone, 'you're not in any trouble.' I was not reassured. I felt instantly uncomfortable.

'We should take her home,' my mother said.

'She needs some rest that's for sure,' my father added.

'But of course she does,' the Other Mother replied. How could my parents not see thru her act? I guess I could ask myself the same question; how didn't I? 'don't you, Coraline?' she continued. I slowly began to shuffle away, hoping that my parents would take the hint. 'Did you leave anything in my office, Mel?' I felt a sudden irritation at her for calling my mom by her first name. 'Did you come in with a bag?' My parents went back to check they hadn't left anything. The Other Mother took a step closer to me. I leaned away. _Hurry up Mom and Dad! _I thought.

Her very presence put my nerves on edge. I wondered why she hadn't taken on a different disguise one I wouldn't recognize. Unless she wanted me to recognize her for some reason or . . . perhaps, she could only take on the form of the parent of the kids whom she was primarily after. . ?

My parents came out again with their bags. The sooner we got outta here the better! I hurried over to them. The Other Mother accompanied us out to my displeasure. We finally got to the gate. 'You're as cute as a button, aren't you, Coraline?' she whispered to me. I winced. My parents didn't hear her, they said good bye to her as if she were a friend. I was left with the feeling that my body was freezing and my throat had gone dry. The nightmare was coming alive in my mind again and I really wished she hadn't said that.

* * *

'Coraline, please stop it!' my mother groaned.

'Your Mother is trying to drive!' my rather irritated father reminded me. I wished that seeing her would've jogged their memories but of course it hadn't. And anyway they probably only saw her in her true form. They seemed to think so highly of her too.

'I don't know why you feel so negatively about her, Coraline. She was so understanding.'

'Mom!' I groaned. They both ignored me.

'She isn't even gong to punish you.'

'Dad!'

'She seems to like you a lot, Coraline.' My mother added.

'Oh, yeah,' I muttered under my breath, 'she _loves_ me!'

'What was that you said?' My father asked. I thought quickly.

'I was wondering how you didn't notice how similar she looked to Mom, just more attractive . . .'

'Coraline!'

'Pay no attention to her, Charlie,' my mother told him. I scowled.

'Didn't you think it was a bit odd that she was wearing shades inside?' I interrupted, 'only kids would normally do that . . .' I stopped. They were ignoring me. 'Don't you think she's a little, um, too nice?' I asked them loudly in an attempt to make them listen to me, ' 'Too good to be true' kinda nice?' They were evidently still not listening to a word I was saying. I sighed and looked out the window. What was I gonna to do? 'It's rude to ignore someone when they're talking to you,' I mumbled loud enough for them to hear. My mother gave a sigh.

'You are being paranoid, Coraline,' she said irritably, 'Belle is a very nice person, can't you just . . .'

'Belle?' I asked.

'Um, Miss Dam,' my father told me, 'it's her first name.' _Belle, Belle, Belle Dam. _I thought. I had heard something similar before, I was sure of it.

* * *

'No way. No way!' You got away with it!' Neila exclaimed, 'I don't believe it! How did you manage to do that!' I gave a shrug.

During the previous evening I had been trying to work out what the Other Mother was up to. One thing was for sure, she wasn't solely out to get me; she had had too many opportunities, she would've made a grab for me by now and wouldn't have cared if anyone saw. That didn't mean I did not want to avoid her continually though, especially one to one.

I suddenly stood up. Wybie! Surely he'd believe!

'Neila,' I asked her, 'where d'you think Wybie is?'

'Dunno,' she replied, 'The Library? That's where all the dorks hang out isn't it?' I gave a small laugh before hurrying off. I felt so glad, so relived. I wouldn't be alone for much longer.

Wybie was outside the library, looking at the notice board. I tapped him on the shoulder. He yelled in surprise.

'Coraline! Jonesy, hey, um . . .' he looked around quickly, 'how much trouble are you in?'

'None, at least not yet.'

'Huh?'

'We need to talk,' I replied, 'right now.' I grabbed his wrist.

'What exactly happened yesterday, anyway?' he asked as we went along the corridor. I stopped abruptly. A moment later, the cat, who Wybie had hidden in his jumper, clambered out and sat down next to him. I glanced around quickly.

'It's her,' I whispered.

'Huh?'

'Miss Dam, she's . . . well,'

'Well, what?'

'She's the Other Mother,'

'What!' Wybie exclaimed, 'You think Miss Dam's the Other Mother!'

'Wybie, keep it down.'

'Oh, Coraline, you must've made a mistake.'

'What! No, Wybie not you too! It's true! Please, you're the only one . . .'

'Maybe you're still a little sick, Jonesy. Maybe . . .'

'I, am not, sick! Oh, Wybie . . !' I suddenly became aware of the sound of laughter. I turned to see Tessany and her five friends laughing their heads off. My face went red.

'Y-y-you think Miss Dam's t-the Other Mother!' Tessany spluttered, 'Now that is funny! Oh, I'm getting stomach pains!' The six of them continued to laugh hysterically. 'Oh, no! Oh, help me! The Other Mother's turned invisible and is trying to take me away!' Tessany yelled. The group's amount of laughter increased. My face became redder and it was becoming very difficult to hold back tears. Wybie just stood there, looking awkward, as always, saying nothing. 'Oh, no guys! It's a _needle_!' she continued, pointing at the imaginary object on the floor. 'So scary! Don't let it touch you! It's _so_ dangerous!' I couldn't take anymore. I slapped her hard across the face. The others gasped. There were a few moments silence while Tessany picked herself up. She glared at me, her gray eyes flashed in anger. 'You're gonna pay for that Freakaline! We're gonna tell everyone what you did! And what you think about Miss Dam!' The six of them began to move away, 'Not even that nerd believes you!' she shouted back, pointing at Wybie. Soon they were gone.

'Coraline,' Wybie began, 'you shouldn't have hit her . . .'

'I shouldn't have hit her!' I exclaimed, 'she deserved it! And what about you! It's not like you tried to help me!'

'Gee Jonesy, I'm sorry . . .' he mumbled.

'You never try to help me! All you do is watch while everyone laughs at me and cracks joke. And you know! You know what I've said is true!'

'Well, I . . .'

'Just get lost!'

'Huh?'

'Just go away and leave me alone Why-Were-You-Born! Just leave me alone!' I shouted thru tears that had begun to pour down my face. He hesitated but then hurried off. I slid down the wall onto the floor and put my head in my hands. The cat sat down next to me, and started rubbing himself against my arm.

'That nerd givin' you a bad time, huh?' I looked up and saw, to my surprise, and embarrassment, that it was Orto. He was still just as cute but there were a few differences to his normal appearance; his hair looked like it had been washed and brushed very well although his hair still stood up in places, his shirt was actually tucked in in one place and he was wearing his shades. I guessed that he thought that as the principal was wearing shades indoors, he would be able to get away with it.

I didn't know what to say in reply. He sat down next to me. Suddenly the cat sprang up. He arched his back and starting spitting at Orto. What was the matter with him? I felt embarrassed and awkward too. Orto was surprisingly relaxed.

'Oh, don't worry about it, Cora,' he said coolly, 'cats never seem to like me. I think it might be something to do with the smell of the shampoo I use actually.' I gave a smile and tried to ignore the cat. I thought was a moment; I might as well tell him before he heard from someone else.

'I, I hit Tessany. She, well, she wasn't being particularly nice to me and . . .' I was surprised when Orto smiled.

'She had it coming,' he replied in a relaxed tone. I was almost shocked. But, when I thought about it, boys were most likely always doing that sort of thing weren't they; well, most boys. 'Wish I'd seen it,' he continued, 'How hard did you do it, Cora?' There was some form of humor in his voice. He evidently found it rather amusing.

'Pretty hard.' I replied with an unwilling smile. He gave a grin and offered me a tissue. 'Thanks,' I mumbled. I hadn't noticed that the cat had stopped spitting but when he began to spit violently and loudly I looked up. '

Ah, just the two kids I was looking for.'

'Hello, Miss Dam,' Orto replied politely.

'I was wondering if you would deliver some things to the main office for me, Orto.' she said.

'Of course,' he answered before rapidly tucking his shirt in. I slowly started to shuffle away, hoping I would be able to sneak off.

'Coraline!' I stopped and heaved a sigh. 'I would like to speak to you,' It suddenly occurred to me that Tessany might have told her I hit her. Had she? The Other Mother handed Orto a bunch of folders and the like. 'To the main desk, Orto.'

'Yes, Miss Dam,' he began to head off, 'See you later, Cora!' he called back.

'Bye,' I replied quietly and a little nervously. It was then that I realized that Orto had given me a nickname.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

I thought I was gonna be in trouble for sure. I was not prepared to tell her why I'd hit Tessany and I knew she'd probably just laugh in my face anyway if I did. I was lucky. Wybie had burst in (despite the fact that it said on the door not to enter without knocking, and blurted out that Tessany had been being mean to me. It seemed I had managed to get away with it. But Tessany had kept her word.

When I arrived at school the next day, everyone seemed to know that I thought Miss Dam was the Other Mother; there was a large amount of sniggering goin' on behind my back and Neila seemed to be avoiding me. But other things were on my mind such as the fact that I had gone down to breakfast that morning to find that Wybie had left a bunch of flowers for me by the front door. I soon caught sight of him.

'Hey, Wybie!' I called, hurrying toward him.

'Hey Jonesy,' he said a little awkwardly, 'did you . . ? Um . . .'

'Thanks for the flowers,'

'Well, I wanted to apologize. I haven't been a particularly good friend . . .' he mumbled.

'It's okay.'

'Hey, Cora!' It was Orto. My face went a little pink.

'See you later, Wybie,' I said quickly before going over to Orto. 'Hi,' I said to Orto while fiddling with a strand of hair and not looking at him in the eye.

'So, Wybie sent you flowers?' he asked.

'Yeah . . .' I replied awkwardly. Why was he asking this?

'So, you two hooked up then?' Part of me was horrified.

'What! No! No, no! We're just friends.' I told him. It wasn't really the idea that people might think I was, it was the fact that Orto thought I might be that horrified me. But at the same time, I felt a hope. If he was asking me, could that mean . . .

'Wanna be my lab partner?' he asked.

'Sure!' I replied feeling delighted.

* * *

It was lunch time and it seemed that Neila had stopped avoiding me. At first, I thought it was a bit odd that she was sitting with me, Wybie and Roseate (a girl with strawberry-blond slightly curly hair and glasses from the year below who was acquainted with Wybie) when she had so many other, more popular friends. I soon found out why.

'Tessany is so jealous!' she said in a low voice thru sniggers.

'Huh?' Roseate and Wybie said at once.

'Haven't you heard about Coraline and Orto?' she asked them.

'What about them?' Wybie inquired, staring at me.

'Neila,' I said to her, 'we're not exactly . . .'

'You basically are, Coraline!' she retorted with a giggle.

'Not here, Neila!' I muttered. A large amount of the other kids had turned their heads toward us. A few giggles were going round. There were a few moments of silence. Neila changed the topic.

'Are you getting a puppy then?' she asked. I gave a sigh.

'No, my parents think I'm not _responsible_ enough,' I groaned. I couldn't help feeling a bit bitter. I had gone thru a lot to get my parents back from the Other Mother and then they say I'm not responsible to look after a dog.

'Well, you never know, they might change their minds. Maybe you need to show them that you are responsible,' Neila told me. I gave a scowl. 'You haven't forgotten about looking after my sister, have you?'

'Oh, no,' I responded, 'Of course not.'

'Good. I must warn you, she's very excited.' she told me with a smile. I laughed. Neila got up from the table. 'I've gotta go, I said I'd meet Miss Dam.' She rushed off. Dam, Dam. Belle Dam? Of course! Beldam! Why hadn't I realized before! It was what the ghost kids had referred to the Other Mother as! I stood up.

'I'm gonna go to the library,' I told the other two.

'Why would you want to go to the library?' Roseate asked shyly (this was unsurprising as she was quite a shy person).

'I want to find something out,' I replied, ignoring the perplexed looks on their faces, 'See you two!' I raced off.

I hurriedly entered and grabbed a dictionary. Could a dictionary definition possibly help me? Part of me felt that it just wasn't right for a normal kid to go into a library uninstructed by a teacher nether mind using a dictionary of all things! But then it struck me that, well, I wasn't really that normal after all, not as normal as I had once been . . . My situation was far from ordinary. Well, unusual circumstances required unusual measures.

I began to quickly turn the pages. Beldam – from middle aged English – ugly woman, hag, witch. I sighed. I guess, subconsciously, I had already known she was witch, I just hadn't put the word to it. I looked down at the book again. I couldn't all together understand what it said but it seemed that in the word had used to be used to mean grandmother. It was the 'mother' part that stuck in my head. In French, it literally meant 'beautiful lady'? That was ironic, especially for her.

I sighed. It made sense and all but there was no way it could really help me. I closed the book and sighed again. What should I do? Something could be happening right before my very eyes and I hadn't even noticed it.

It would be best to leave before anyone saw me in there. I would look like a total dweeb. What would Orto think if he saw me?

As I was walking out of the library, I was greeted by the head of the high school.

'Are you okay, dear?' she asked me quietly.

'Uh, yes,' I replied, unsure why she was asking. She obviously wanted to say something but felt she couldn't. She looked around nervously.

'I heard her yelling at you on Monday . . .' she said in a very low voice. My hopes suddenly rose. Did she suspect the Other Mother?

'I was trying to get away from her, Mrs. Phils,' I began hurriedly, 'She . . .' Someone cleared their throat. We both turned to see the Other Mother standing close by as if she had been there all along but she hadn't been there a second ago. Her mood was unclear. Mrs. Phils suddenly became very nervous.

'And what may I ask were you two having a nice chat about?' the Other Mother asked. I was surprised when Mrs. Phils answered, and the manner that she did.

'We were talking about you, actually. About Monday.'

'All in the past!' she replied, grabbing me by the arm, 'was just a big misunderstanding. Isn't that right, Coraline?' I didn't reply. She started stroking my hair. I winced, feeling immensely uncomfortable. Mrs. Phils could sense my feelings.

'Let go of the girl, Belle!' she said with a heavy sigh in her voice. The Other Mother stopped for a moment, a mad expression passing across her face. When it looked like Mrs. Phils was about to continue despite this, the Other Mother had had enough.

'Do you want to keep your job, Sable!' she snarled, tightening her grip on me, 'Because if you do I strongly advise you keep your mouth shut!' Any courage that remained in Mrs. Phils left her.

'Yes, of course . . .' she replied quietly, not looking at her. She took one last glance at me and hesitated before walking away slowly. Was the Other Mother going to let go of me? Or should I start struggling?

* * *

She had let go of me but I could tell she had been tempted not to. I felt so sorry for Mrs. Phils especially as, on top of everything else, our would-have-been-principal, who had disappeared, was her sister. But I knew she wouldn't be any help to me because she would be too worried about losing her job.

I walked around the elementary school looking for little Yalia. Well, she wasn't actually that little, for her age anyway, she was about average really.

I came to a room which looked like some sort of playroom (perhaps for when it was rainy or particularly cold outside at recess). Maybe she was hiding. I got down on my hands and knees to look under a table. Almost at once, I felt a weight on my back. I heard a small giggle.

'Yalia?' I asked with a small sigh, 'Is that you?' She giggled again.

'Are we looking for witches?' she asked, 'are we on a witch hunt?'

'No,' I said slowly, 'you are on my back and I was looking for you.' I told her. 'Besides,' I added, 'I wouldn't look for a witch under this table anyway, it's far too small.' Yalia slid off my back and began to fiddle with a strand of her very short orange hair; her eyes were brown like mine, unlike Neila whose eyes were green and there were a great number of tiny freckles around Yalia's dainty nose. She looked a little confused and thoughtful at this moment. 'What is it?' I inquired.

'Well, it's just that, well, whenever I bring up witches normally, whoever I'm talking to tells me they're not real.'

'Well, if you've never seen one how would you know if they're real or not?' I answered. She grinned. I wondered how she'd react if she knew that there was a real witch in the school.

'Is it true that you shouted at a teacher?' she asked excitably.

'Well, yes . . .' I replied slightly awkwardly.

'And it was the principal? Miss Dam?'

'Yes,' I replied with a sigh. I got the impression that Yalia thought I had become god. Her expression said it all. 'Don't try it yourself though!' I added quickly, 'It was a special circumstance.'

'Oh, I wouldn't have the courage,' she told me shyly.

'How have your first few days at school been?' I asked her.

'Okay,' she replied, 'Haven't found any witches yet though . . .'

'Have you considered checking the teachers?' I said with an odd smile. There was a moment's silence.

'Caroline . . .'

'It's Coraline,' I told her, trying not to sound too irritated.

'Oh, sorry. Coraline, could you tell me a story? Please?'

'Oh, I don't know any good stories . . .'

'Yes you do! Sister said you're always telling crazy stories!' I felt a sudden irritation with Neila.

'Well, it's only one story actually . . .'

'Tell me! Please?'

'Well, I dunno . . .' Maybe it was a little too scary for her . . .

'Oh, please!' But, on the other hand . . .

'Alright, alright. I'll tell you. But I'm warning you, it gets a bit scary.'

'Okay.'

'Well, it started when I'd just moved here, it was late winter. And in the house, I found a small door in the wall . . .'  


* * *

Neila turned up toward the end of the telling.

'Mom and Dad are waiting, Yalia.' she said.

'Tell them I'll come as soon as Coraline's finished the story.'

'Story? Coraline, you're not . . .'

'I asked for it,' Yalia told her, 'Go on, Coraline, tell me about the creepy hand!'

'Hand?'

'Yeah,' Yalia replied, 'the witch's hand came off when Coraline shut the door on it, but then it came out by itself and tried to get the key back and . . !' Neila rolled her eyes.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five

Nothing much had happened on Thursday and Friday. I had been very glad when the weekend had arrived. But now it was over and it was Monday morning. I was sitting at the breakfast table sulking.

'I'm sure you have lots to look forward to,' my mother said from behind her laptop.

'Yeah,' I replied sarcastically, 'like sewing class this afternoon. Yippee.'

'Yes, dear,' she said, not looking up and not paying any attention what so ever. At this moment, my father walked into the room with a newspaper in one hand, a cup of coffee in the other.

'You should consider yourself lucky that you don't go to a Victorian school,' he said cheerfully, 'you could be caned for doing the slightest thing wrong.' He put his cup down on the table and picked up a rod which was leaning against the door. I rolled my eyes; I'd trade having the Other Mother as the principal for the cane any day.

'Dad, what are you doing with that rod,' I asked him while fiddling with the skeleton keys in my coat pocket. I took to keeping them there just in case.

'The sink's blocked up, so I'm going to use it to unblock it,' he replied.

'Wouldn't it be easier just to get a plumber in, Dad?' I inquired.

'No time for that, I can do it myself in no time,' he answered. _Yeah right,_ I thought. I leaned my elbow on the table and put my head on my hand. I heaved a sigh.

* * *

It was recess and I was spending it as normal, avoiding the Other Mother's possible contact. I looked around.

'Hi Coraline!' came Yalia's voice loudly, 'whatcha' doin'?'

'Shh! I'm trying to keep a low profile over here!' I whispered.

'Who are you hiding from, Coraline? Is it a witch?' she asked excitably.

'Well,' I said in a tone which was ever so slightly sarcastic and ironic, 'You could say that . . .' I looked down at her and realized how sweet she actually looked, 'Say Yalia, how much do you know about witches anyway?'

'Oh, loads of stuff,' she replied in an enthusiastic tone, 'They are generally old, can do magic, in pictures they have broomsticks that they fly around on but in stories they never seem to, do they?'

'No, what about their appearance? Do they disguise themselves?'

'Well they sometimes have green skin. Oh, in your story, the witch had button eyes. Yeah, they disguise themselves like in 'Snow White' and 'Sleeping Beauty,'

'How deceitful are they?'

'Well, they often try to trick you, try to make you feel safe like in your story and like in 'Hansel & Gretel'. The witch tries to eat the kids in that story.' I flinched, remembering what the cat had said about the Other Mother's eating habits.

'Yes,' I replied, my voice the same tone as before, 'so don't let yourself be tricked Yalia,' She laughed, then looked questioningly at the expression on my face. 'Yalia,' I began, 'I need to tell you something. I know this may seem a little unbelievable, but, that story I told you, well it really . . .'

'Yalia! I've been looking all over for you!' It was Neila. She was carrying a package. 'I have a present for you. Coraline, if you wouldn't mind, I'd prefer to give it to her alone . . .'

'Oh, okay . . .' I replied, feeling slightly downcast. I began to walk away.

'Bye, Coraline!' Yalia called.

'Bye!' I called, not looking back. The next thing I heard was Yalia's squeals of delight. I wondered what Neila had given her but it was not enough to make me think about it much. What did it matter anyway? I quickly forgot about it, there were other things on my mind.

* * *

It was lunch time and Neila was in a very good mood. I wasn't really sure how I felt. The Other Mother had caught Tessany trying to be mean to me again earlier and she had got into a large amount of trouble. If she had been caught by any other teacher I would've been thrilled but she had been caught by _her_. Suddenly, Orto turned up at our table with a large paper bag.

'Special delivery for Coraline Jones from Miss Dam!' he announced, handing the bag to me. I took it nervously, then looked up at him.

'Orto? Have you had a hair cut?'

'Yes, I have Miss Jones,' he replied exceptionally politely. I giggled. 'I had it trimmed last night.' It had evidently been done carefully, but unprofessionally as there were small amounts of hair at the side and back which didn't line up. 'Well, I'd better go,' he said, 'see you in sewing class, Cora!'

I watched until he had completely disappeared. Wybie heaved a sigh. I asked him what was wrong, but he said it was nothing.

I opened the bag gingerly, half expecting it to be full of disgusting bugs or cocobeetles or worse, but the bag turned out to be full of cupcakes, homemade cupcakes.

'Oh my gosh!' Neila exclaimed when she saw. The other two got up to look. Roseate just gawped.

'Miss Dam sent you cupcakes!'

'Wybie, shh!' I moaned; I didn't want the whole school coming to look.

'Miss Dam sure likes you!' Roseate said with a small smile. Didn't I know it! There were two possible reasons I could think of at the time for the cupcakes; one – the Other Mother was trying to win me over – or, – two – she was trying to poison me. Both seemed just as likely in a sense. Either way, I didn't want to touch them.

I could tell the three of them were hoping they'd get one. I did feel I should offer them round but what if they were poisoned? I weighed up the facts again in my head and came to the conclusion that it was much more likely she was trying to win me over. After all, it would look very suspicious and besides, it would make me inedible wouldn't it . . . I gave a small shudder. I looked back at the other three.

'Help yourselves,' I said, pushing the bag toward them. They each took one. I wondered how the Other Mother had found out that I liked cupcakes so much. There was no spying doll now.

'You know,' said Neila with her mouth full, 'Orto's changed a lot over the summer.' I looked up.

'What do you mean?' I asked.

'Well,' she began, 'he's tidier for one thing; his old friends themselves say that he's different and he rarely spends any time with them at all and, well, he likes you.'

'So!' I replied defensively.

'I'm not saying that that's a bad thing. I mean, before, well, I half suspected he was gonna ask Tessany out or at least someone . . .'

'Higher up in the school food chain?' Wybie suggested.

'Well . . . yeah,' Neila answered, 'and, no offence Coraline, but it is pretty odd that he took a liking to you, and even odder that he's letting it on. It's just not done.' I scowled at her.

'Maybe,' Wybie began nervously, 'maybe he's using you . . .'

'Using me! Why would he be using me!' I retorted, 'You've never liked him much anyway!' Wybie gave a sigh. 'That's not many differences . . .' I muttered.

'He's a bit of a principal's pet too,' Roseate added, 'spends most recesses doing things for Miss Dam. Some people even think he's got a teacher crush on her.' I gave an irritated snort. 'Yes, it probably is complete nonsense . . .' she continued. I ignored this and didn't really think about it at the time.

'Shall we go outside then?' Neila suggested.

'Aren't you off to do sewing?' Roseate asked.

'We've finished the project we were working on,' she replied, 'Miss Dam will let me know when she's thought of another.' Then something suddenly occurred to me, if I could sneak into her office and look around, maybe I could find some clues as to what the Other Mother was up to. It was risky, but I felt it was necessary.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six

I walked slowly and quietly along the corridor but at the same time making an effort to not look like I was up to something. I suddenly jumped but then I realized it was actually only the cat. I sighed with relief, I didn't know what I had been expecting but I still felt relieved. He gave a look which suggested that I wasn't putting up the best performance of pretending I wasn't up to anything. I could tell that he knew what I was doing.

I approached the office in silence and with much care. She wasn't in there. She must've been still at lunch but this made me realize that I didn't have much time.

The office itself was quite ordinary at first sight; there was a desk with a computer and a telephone on, one of those chairs that spins round, a normal chair in one of the corners and there was a small window that was open slightly. There was also a large cupboard but it looked more like a wardrobe. For some reason, it was padlocked.

I opened one of the draws in the desk and began to look thru the contents of one of the folders. The cat searched the office but had little success. He pushed a timetable toward me. One of the first grade class's sewing lesson times was circled but there was nothing out of the ordinary about that.

I put the folders I had got out of the draws back and thought. Perhaps . . . perhaps there was something on the computer? But what was her password?

Beldam? No. Buttons? No. Other Mother? No. Sewing? Needles? No. I thought hard. What was she likely to put? After a few moments, I typed in my name. Yes!

As soon as it logged on, I began to search her documents for something. Everything was in disarray. She obviously struggled with technology. I wondered if there was any way I could use that to my advantage. The cat began hissing at the cupboard door.

'Stop it!' I muttered. I looked back at the computer screen. He did stop but not because I'd said so. In an instant, he made a leap for the window and rushed out. I suddenly heard footsteps. The beldam was coming.

I felt a surge of panic. I quickly closed the document I was looking at and looked around for a place to hide. I didn't think to log off. I couldn't leave the room; she would see me. The doorknob began to turn. I dived under the desk. It was one of those times I appreciated being small for my age.

She walked into the room. _Oh, please don't look under the desk!_

'I don't remember leaving this on . . .' she said to herself. How could I have been so stupid as to not log off! If she suspected anything, she would surely realize it had been me; who else would've been able to figure out her password!

She sat down at the desk. Her feet were only a few inches away from me. If she moved them by only a fraction, she would kick me. I tried to make myself smaller. _Don't make a sound!_ It was very difficult to contain myself from breathing too loudly or from screaming. The phone suddenly rang. I heard her pick it up.

'Hello?' she said rather loudly, 'Oh, hi, dear. Having a good day?' Who was she talking to? 'Are you sure it's been long enough . .? She does . .? Oh, well, in that case . . . Perfect! Good work . . .Yes, I'll see you soon. Goodbye, dear.' She put the phone down. Who had she been talking to? What had they been talking about? Something was going down, that was for sure. Whatever it was, that had just happened, she sure seemed happy about it.

How long would she stay there for? She would surely leave when recess ended but how much of it was left? I knew I could be there for ages. That was if she didn't find me first.

A pen fell from the desk onto the floor. It rolled toward me. Oh, no! She would certainly see me now! She began to lean down. Suddenly, someone burst thru the door. She stood up.

'Um . . . Well . . .' It was Wybie and he appeared to be trying to think up an excuse. 'You're wanted, um, at, um, the main office. Immediately.'

'Would you care to tell me the purpose?' She asked. I could tell she was suspicious. I held my breath.

'Uh, they didn't, they didn't specify . . .' Wybie replied nervously.

'Oh, really. And who sent you, Wyborne? What did they look like?'

'Well, um . . . um . . .' Suddenly, the cat jumped out and landed on the floor, spitting and hissing at the Other Mother. Neither Wybie nor the Other Mother knew how to react. 'I don't think he, um, likes you much . . .' Wybie murmured. The Other Mother gave a small unnatural laugh before muttering half to herself,

'The feeling's mutual.' I had a sudden desire to jump out and grab her shades so that Wybie could see her eyes but I restrained myself. In an instant, the cat lunged at her. She reacted by giving a snarl of frustration and chasing the cat out of her office and into the corridor. I seized the opportunity to get out of the room.

Barely a moment after, the cat turned tail and ran back toward us. To my surprise it stopped and stood sideways on infront of me almost as if he were trying to protect me. It continued to hiss as the Other Mother approached us. She stopped.

Although I couldn't see them, I could tell that her button eyes were moving slowly from Wybie, to the cat, to me, and back again. How could I have been so stupid! She obviously recognized the cat, she evidently knew what Wybie looked like as she had created a button eyed double of him, and in her black button eyes I had appeared out of nowhere in a matter of seconds. I should've run, not stood there! She turned to Wybie who looked at her anxiously.

'I think the people at the main office can wait a short time, don't you Wyborne?' He looked at the floor. She suddenly gripped my shoulder tightly; I could tell she was not happy with me. 'Coraline, I would like a word with you . . .'

She dragged me back into her office by the ear. She shut the door, closed the window and drew the blind. Oh, this couldn't be good.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven

She took her shades off. I wished she'd kept them on. Even though I knew they were there, the buttons, not being able to see them had made her, at least, less frightening to look at.

'I feel that we need to see, eye-to-eye,' she said surprisingly calmly, tapping one of the buttons. I was tempted to say that I didn't want to but I was likely to be in a large amount of trouble already so I made myself hold my tongue.

'Why don't you sit down, darling?' I didn't want to do anything she suggested but she was obviously covering up her anger, I didn't want to make it even worse.

I sat down and looked at her with a little anxiety.

'So, you decided to spy on me, did you?' I didn't reply. 'You decided to search my office? Tried to find things out!' She was getting angrier by the second. The best thing to do would be to keep my mouth shut; she had no proof of what she was saying was true. I needed to restrain the urge to shout at her again and give nothing away. I had already thought up several rude remarks I could've said but had had enough control not to. 'Did you station your friend and his mangy cat as look outs?' I didn't say a word; I knew she was trying to provoke me into giving everything away, 'Should Wybie come and join us? I'm sure . . .'

'He had nothing to do with it!' I blurted out without thinking, 'I didn't tell him what I was doing!' I clapped my hand over my mouth. I had just let out that I had indeed been spying on her. It had been the thought of what had happened to the Other Wybie that had done it, what _she_ had done to him; and I realized that had been the intention.

'So you were spying on me . . .' Her voice was triumphant, furious and thoughtful all at the same time. I gritted my teeth both in fear and hatred.

'How did you get out anyway?' I asked her in a not very polite tone. She gave a smile.

'You gave the key back to me,' I stared at her. 'The well is just another entrance to my world. It's a very good thing I can manipulate, otherwise replacing my eyes would have been almost impossible to do . . .' Until that moment, I had completely forgotten that the cat had blinded her by scratching the buttons out. 'I was very happy when I found the key and now I am here talking to my little darling; but we are getting off the subject aren't we?'

I glared defiantly at her.

'I am not your little darling and I never will be!' I yelled at her. I thought she was going to transform for a moment but she didn't. She slowly reached for her pocket and took out a brass key. She unlocked the cupboard door. It wasn't very deep and all sides excluding the door had a large amount of long needles sticking out of them. I could see what was coming, she was going to lock me in it. She came back over to me.

'I strongly advise you do not try and spy on me again or interfere in any way,' she snarled, bearing down on me, 'you are likely to find yourself in a very unpleasant situation,' She pulled me up and dragged me by my hair toward the cupboard, 'If you are good, I might let you out at the end of the day.' She shoved me in; I received several cuts on my legs and arms. She was just about to close the door when there was a knocking at the office door. We both froze. In a flash, and in a panic, she grabbed her shades and put them back on.

'Good Afternoon, Miss Dam,' I recognized that voice, it was Yalia! 'I was wondering if you knew where Coraline was.' I took the opportunity. I stuck my head out and looked round toward Yalia. 'Coraline? What are you doing in the cupboard?' she asked in astonishment.

'Yes, Coraline, what are you doing in the cupboard,' the Other Mother asked, pulling me out again. She obviously wanted to appear well in front of the small girl. I could tell she was still angry though. What good fortune Yalia had turned up!

'What were you doing in the cupboard anyway?' Yalia asked after we had left the office, 'Were you playing 'Hide & Seek'?'

'Not exactly, Yalia,' I replied, 'the truth is that Miss Dam . . .'

'Coraline!' I turned to see Wybie hurrying up the corridor.

'See you later, Coraline!' Yalia said before, racing off. I turned to Wybie.

'Coraline,' Wybie puffed, 'what did you think you were doing!'

'What?' I asked.

'Hiding under the desk in Miss Dam's office,' he told me, 'that was just plain dumb.'

'Well, I didn't have the chance to get out!' I retorted, 'Do you think I would've otherwise?'

'You shouldn't have gone in there in the first place! What did you think you were doing!'

'Just because you're such a loser, doesn't mean you have to be such a jerk to Cora!' We both turned to see that it was Orto who had spoken. Wybie scowled at him. A gave a small smile. He came up to me, 'Come on, Cora. You shouldn't have to spend your time with this geek.' I wasn't sure; I knew that Wybie was angry because he had evidently put a lot of effort into trying to help me . . . Orto took my hand in his; that persuaded me.  


* * *

It was near to the end of recess and Orto had gone to get his bag a few moments before.

'Psst!' I turned to see that it was Roseate. She looked around nervously. She reminded me distinctly of Mrs. Phils but this wasn't very surprising as she was her daughter. (Mrs. Phils's husband had died but she had kept the name) But it was the same look as Mrs. Phils had had when she had met me outside the library. I hurried over to Roseate.

'What wrong?' I asked her. She looked around.

'I know my mom wouldn't believe me even if I did tell her,' she began, 'but as, well, your stories . . .' There was a small pause, 'I thought you would be more likely to believe me . . .'

'What's up?'

'Can you keep it a secret? Just between us?'

'Yeah, sure.'

'Well, I wasn't watching where I was going and I, well, I crashed into Miss Dam . . .' I had a vague idea where this was going. 'I-I apologized but s-she had a m-massive g-go at me; screamed her head off really . . . She said she'd lock me in the cupboard in her office if I did a-anything else . . .' I nodded. She seemed to be absolutely terrified. 'I-I n-never expected her to act like th-that; she seemed so nice . . .'

'People aren't always what they seem,' I said solemnly, remembering how I had felt when I had opened that box and seen the needle, thread and buttons, how I felt as realized what she was really like . . .

'Please, Coraline,' Roseate said, 'don't tell anybody. She said that if I did say anything she would lock me in there for the next week. I think she meant it too. That's what really scared me.'

'Don't worry,' I told her, 'I won't tell anyone.'  


* * *

The sewing lesson wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be. I sat next to Orto. He wasn't much good at sewing either. Although, I couldn't help suspecting that he was partially putting it on. After having a go at Roseate, the Other Mother seemed to be in a much better mood.

Toward the end of the lesson, Orto invited me to go to the cinema with him on Friday evening. The majority of the class, particularly the girls started laughing and giggling. My face went very pink. I couldn't form a sentence so I just nodded vigorously in reply.

'Bit of a funny choice of place to ask someone out isn't it, Orto?' the Other Mother asked jokily but still managing to keep her sweet tone, 'A sewing lesson?' I barely heard her; I was too happy, too excited.

It would've been a perfect afternoon apart from the sewing itself and even that wasn't so bad, but when the class ended and I approached the school gates, I caught sight of Neila and Yalia's parents. They were arguing again. I hurried over to see what it was about but before I got there, Yalia ran past me in the opposite direction,

'Stop it!' she cried, 'Don't you ever, ever stop arguing!' She ran off in tears. I wanted to run after her. But Neila held me back.

'Don't worry about her Coraline,' she said, 'Yalia's always running off, she'll be back in no time.' I scowled at her.

'Come on, Coraline,' It was my mother. 'Let's go home.'

'But . . .'

'Your friend will be fine,' my father insisted, 'someone will find her.' I wanted to look for Yalia but I gave up. Besides, her parents would find her, what could possibly go wrong?


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight

'Did I mention that I almost got locked in a cupboard for the whole afternoon?'

'Yes, dear,' my mother replied tonelessly.

'Were you listening that time?'

'That's nice.' Obviously she wasn't.

'Dad, are you listening to me?'

'Huh? What? Oh, yes, you were locked in a cupboard . . .'

'Almost locked in a cupboard. There were needles sticking out of it.'

'Are you sure you didn't make that part up?' My father asked with a laugh. I scowled.

'I'm going out tomorrow evening,' I reminded them, 'with Orto,'

'You've told us ten times already.' my mother said, 'We'll see you at the assembly this afternoon, Coraline. We may be a little late.' She turned to my father, 'Charlie, I'll have no time to call you, we'll have to . . .'

'If you learned to text,' I began, 'you would be able to contact him.'

'Texting is completely useless,' my mother said flatly. She looking at me and then added, 'try to neaten yourself up a bit.'

* * *

I wondered whether Neila was going to turn up. Both she and Yalia hadn't been in on Tuesday or Wednesday. Maybe their parents had decided to split up.

Things had changed slightly over the last two day. Since news had spread that I was going out with Orto, I had seemed to become more interesting and more popular. Some kids had sniggered at me because I was obviously, at least a little bit, scared of 'Miss Dam', but since it had become clear that Roseate wasn't the only other kid who was a little nervous of her to say the least, I had acquired a small group of what you might think of as sympathizers from various different grades.

I had been spending a lot of time with Orto but I hadn't spoken to Wybie since Monday which I felt kinda guilty about.

* * *

As I entered thru the school gates, to my surprise, Wybie raced up to me,

'Coraline, it's Orto,'

'What? What's wrong with him?' I asked slightly panicked. 'Is he hurt?'

'Uh, no. Nothing like that . . .'

'He's not what you think. I've heard him talking about you and on his cell phone. The things he's said, there's something seriously wrong!' I was furious with Wybie.

'Are you trying to ruin everything for me? There's nothing wrong with Orto!'

'Coraline, I know you don't want there to be . . .'

'There isn't! You just want there to be! You don't like him, you never have!'

'Toward the end of last year he began to change! If you thought about it . . !'

'You're just jealous of him!'

'I am not! I just don't want anything bad to happen to you! I-I love you . . .' He stopped. His face went red. I stared. Had he just said what I thought he'd said? He turned and ran.

'Wybie!' I shouted, 'Wait!' He didn't. He was obviously very embarrassed. I didn't know what to do. I had finally got my dream date . . . but . . . Wybie had just admitted he loved me . . . What should I do? Could things get any worse?

I decided to look for Yalia, to take my mind off it. Surely she and Neila would be back by now! When I entered the elementary school, the mood seemed strange. All I could hear was muttered murmurings of the younger kids in small groups or as they hurried passed me. It was odd; when I went into the locker corridor, there was no-one in sight.

Well, almost no-one. There was someone but it couldn't be one of the elementary school kids. As I got closer I realized, to my surprise, that it was Neila. Her back was turned to me and she seemed to be looking in one of the lockers. I hurried over to her.

'Hey, Neila,' I said cheerfully, in a attempt to convince myself I actually felt happy, 'Where have you been the last two days? Where's Yalia?' She turned toward me. She looked very miserable and there were red patches on her face where she'd been crying.

'She-she's gone,'

'What?'

'Oh, Coraline! It's awful! It's Yalia! She's disappeared! We never found her, she never came home on Monday! No-one's seen her since!' I stared. 'I was only going to come in to collect her stuff but, my parents insisted we should go to the assembly . . .' She reached into the locker and took something out which she quickly hid behind her back but I still managed to get a glimpse of it. Had I just seen what I thought I'd seen?

'Neila, let me see that!' I said urgently.

'Coraline, it's between me and Yalia . . .'

'Neila, please! This is important!'

'No!' I tried to grab it off her. 'Oh, alright!' she cried out, close to tears. She shoved it toward me.

No. Oh, no! It couldn't be! It just couldn't be!

'Neila,' I asked, in a shocked and frightened tone, 'where did Yalia get this?'

'I made it,' she replied. I could hear the pride in her voice. 'It was a present. I gave it to her at Monday recess. It's what I've been working on with Miss Dam.' I stared down at the doll in my hands in horror. 'That's Yalia's favorite dress,' Neila added. The dress was a very pale shade of blue, there were daisies around the rim and a pink ribbon around the waist, tied in a bow at the back. There were also short white socks and pink buckled shoes which matched the ribbon. The doll looked just as much like Yalia as the doll I had had looked like me. The doll's button eyes looked up at me; I might have been imagining it but I could've almost sworn that I saw the Other Mother reflected in them for a moment. 'The button eyes were Miss Dam's idea.' Neila told me. I knew I had to at last tell Neila the truth.

'Neila, the Other Mother's taken her.'

'This is no time for jokes!' Neila yelled.

'It's not a joke!'

'My little sister's disappeared and all you can think about is your crazy stories!'

'Neila, you must listen to me! Yalia's in terrible danger!'

'I don't want to hear about it!' Neila shouted thru tears which were causing her eye shadow to run, 'Just leave me alone!' She ran off; I knew there was no point trying to stop her. I felt furious; if Neila had let me go after Yalia, this would never have happened!

I knew I had been pretty stupid too. The Other Mother had sounded interested in Yalia before (if only I had looked up to see the expression on her face, I might've been able to work it out straight away), Neila had given the doll to Yalia then at lunch time said she had finished the project she was working on, and now the fact I hadn't been locked in the cupboard when Yalia turned up made sense!

Neila had been used. I had to do something! I had to save Yalia! But how to do it was another matter. Who knew what might've already happened to her. Why hadn't I seen it from the start? Yalia was young, sweet, innocent and on top of that was easily upset by her parents arguments. She was a perfect target.

She must've been so scared when she found out! Oh, poor Yalia . . .

* * *

I spent the morning lessons trying to figure out a plan. If I had had a house key, I would've gone straight home and tried to open that door. At least I could take comfort in the fact that nothing else would happen to Yalia while the Other Mother was at school.

When lunch time came, I couldn't eat a thing. I merely played with my food while Roseate looked at me with concern. Wybie had been avoiding me all day.

The assembly would be starting soon. I felt a surge of fury as the Other Mother told Yalia's parents she was 'sorry for their trouble'. The assembly . . . My parents were running late, I hadn't seen them.

'I'm sure you won't mind if I borrow Roseate after the assembly . . .' the Other Mother said to a worried looking Mrs. Phils. Roseate gripped her mother's arm.

'What-What do you want her for?' Mrs. Phils asked. She sounded quite nervous and a bit frightened.

'Oh, I just need a little assistance . . .' I could see where this was going. If I didn't do something, Roseate was going to disappear too.

'Wyborne, have you seen that woman somewhere before?' Miss Lovat asked her grandson who shock his head before noticing me and turning his head rapidly. Maybe I should've gone and told Miss Lovat in the first place, but it was too late for that now. I had worked out what I had to do. I had to do what I had been trying hard not to do all this time. I had to make the Other Mother angry, really angry.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter Nine

It was the only way, she would surely change her form, it would show everyone what she was. And I knew how I should do it. The one thing she seemed not to be able to stand was not being in full control of a situation. It was for this reason she was planning to go after Roseate, she wanted revenge on Mrs. Phils for trying to stand up to her. I knew it was very risk; she'd warned me to not interfere and having her in a terrible rage was far from safe . . . I took the doll out of my bag. I looked down at it. I knew had to do it, for Yalia's sake.

* * *

As we all filed into the hall, I became more and more nervous and frightened. This wasn't going to be easy. It was one thing to stand up to someone out of anger and frustration, when you're not really thinking about what you are really doing and the consequences of your actions, but it's completely different when you actually plan it and you are in a rational state of mind.

I would have to make her incredibly angry to get her to lose enough control; before, I had made her angry, yes, but she had also chosen to change form. What would she do? What would she do to me? It was much easier to be afraid not knowing. She had warned me not to interfere . . .

I needed to push my mind into a non-emotional state, I needed not to think about anything but the words I would say and the actions I would take.

I made sure I sat at the end of a row so it would be difficult for anyone to stop me from getting up. The parents were seated on one side of the hall, the other side, the pupils; most of the staff were seated on, or around, the staging. The Other Mother stood up and came to the front of the stage. It was very hard to prevent my knees from shaking.

'Are you alright?' Roseate asked. She was sitting next to me and looking a little worried. I nodded. 'You seem, well, scared . . .' she continued. I didn't reply.

'Good afternoon, everyone,' the Other Mother began, 'Now, I thought I'd start by talking about some new school rules . . .'

'You'd never be able to enforce them!' I shouted.

'Who said that!' she snarled so savagely that everyone was alarmed. I gripped my seat. Roseate tried not to look in my direction. She didn't want to give me away. 'Stand up!' she continued sounding even more dangerous, 'Whoever said that stand up!' I didn't move. She was so angry already. I knew something very bad would happen if I did stand. She glared at all of us kids. 'Was it you, Roseate Phils?' Roseate shook her head. 'Do you know who it was?' Roseate shook her head again; I was surprised at her loyalty. 'I bet it was you, Wybie Lovat! Wasn't it!' I couldn't take anymore. I forced myself to stand. I couldn't read the expression on the Other Mother's face and I wondered whether she'd known it was me all along. 'I thought I warned you to not interfere, Coraline . . !'

'You can't control me,' I told her flatly. I was starting to push the limit, I knew that. She evidently using all her self control not to change form. I wondered how my parents were feeling; embarrassed, likely; ashamed? But they would see, they all would.

'Coraline, sit down,' Roseate whispered, 'she's plenty mad at you . . . I, I don't think you're safe . . .' I took a step away from our chairs. The Other Mother looked like she was about to lose her temper, in a big way. It wouldn't have surprised me if she went for my throat.

'I strongly advise,' the Other Mother began once more, 'I really strongly advise you sit down immediately and button up!' I had a sudden thought; if I waited, everyone would try to stop me; I had one chance to get up there. In an instant, I started to run down the aisle toward the stage, toward her. I could see the adults beginning to stand up planning to stop me. All the way I kept my eyes on what I was aiming for, the Other Mother's shades. I had to get them off.

I went for her with all the strength and determination I had.

'Why you little brat!' she screamed in my face as she tried to push me back. The adults began to hurry up toward us, some of the kids followed. It was luck; the Other Mother hadn't had time to think what I was trying to do; she started to strangle me, I went for the shades. She hadn't realized in time. She removed her hand at about the same time I grabbed them. I kicked her back before she could retaliate. I stepped back, breathing deeply. My school shirt was ripped in several places, there were several gashes on my face from where her sharp nails had penetrated and my lip was bleeding. Roseate and Wybie hurried over to me.

'Coraline, are you alright?' Wybie asked urgently, 'are you badly hurt?' I didn't have the chance to answer. The adults had begun to let out shocked yells.

'Her eyes! Look at her eyes!' someone shouted.

'It's that witch!' Miss Lovat yelled, 'It's the Other Mother!' They all began to back away. I saw the Other Mother get up and shove away anyone in her path. They were all terrified. She was walking in my direction. Roseate moved away from me and tried to find her mother. Wybie didn't move. There was a trickle of black blood on the Other Mother's forehead and as she advanced toward me she began to get taller, her expression was like thunder. I gripped Wybie's arm in an attempt to seek comfort. We both backed slowly away from her until we were almost touching the hall wall. Why weren't the adults doing anything? I guess they didn't know what to do, and perhaps too scared to think? I wondered what was going thru their minds, I wondered what was going thru everyone's minds. What did my parents think now? The Other Mother made to grab me but I managed to dodge.

'Leave her alone!' Wybie shouted at her. She shot a look of anger at him and kicked him hard against the wall behind us.

'Wybie? Wybie are you alright?' I asked, feeling frightened that he might not be.

'Run,' he murmured, 'make a run for it.' The Other Mother tried to grab me again. It was closer than before, she had almost had me. I ran for the nearest door (There were four doors; two going out into the corridor, another two going outside to the parking lot). She rapidly pursued me.

'Leave that kid alone!' one of the adults shouted. It seemed they had got their act together at last. A large amount of shouting arose from the hall. I raced down the corridor as fast as I could. The two doors into the hall from the corridor closed and locked. She didn't want me to get any help and I wouldn't, at least, not straight away; anyone who wanted to help me would have to take the long way which would take time. I was on my own.

How was I going to lose her? I had outrun her before it was true but if she had chased me after I got out the school gate, she most likely would've caught me; she had chosen to call my parents instead. Why hadn't my parents come to help me? It was then that I remembered I hadn't actually seen my parents arrive, perhaps something had happened, perhaps they hadn't actually been at the assembly. Whereever they were, I needed to find them.

I reached a door which lead out onto the tarmac where we were supposed to be when it was recess. I hurried out and toward another part of the school. The path infront kept changing, it was slippery, then sticky, then covered with spider webs. Her manipulations only lasted a few seconds each because she had little power over this world unlike in her own but they were still a hindrance to me and when you are running, a few seconds means more.

I rushed into the building and was met by one of Tessany's friends to my surprise. She grabbed my arm,

'Quick,' she said, 'hide in the Janitor's closet!' She opened the door and I hurried in.

'Have you seen, Coraline, Annette?' the Other Mother asked her. I held my breath.

'No, miss. But if I had, I would tell you.' Annette replied. She sounded pretty convincing. I heard the Other Mother hurrying off down the corridor. I sighed with relief. After a few moments, Annette opened the door. 'You better go before she comes back,' I nodded. 'I'll text ahead to tell the others I've seen you. There's a big search party going on for you.' I nodded again. 'I would like to apologize for making fun of you, and on the others' behalf as well.' I gave a small smile. 'Apart from Tessany, of course.' She sounded quite resentful toward her.

As I ran back the direction I had come, I thought about what she had said. I decided that Tessany's group had all felt dreadful when they realized what I had been saying was true but Tessany hadn't. It seemed they had now abandoned her, realizing what she was like.

I stopped to try and catch my breath. Another of Tessany's group caught sight of me.

'Don't go that way,' Waverly warned, 'if you do, you'll crash right into that witch,'

'Thanks,' I breathed.

'And avoid Tessany,' she added, 'she's got it in for you; she'll most likely tell Button Eyes where you are,'

'Okay,'

I hurried on, I went out of the side door which if you went right led to the gate. I went left onto a square grass verge with a small tree in the middle of it. There were some flowers and an arch on one end which faced the main part of the high school. I met Neila, a very distressed Neila.

'Hurry, Coraline! I saw her a second ago! I'm sorry I didn't believe you! Does she – does she really have my sister?'

'Sorry, Neila, but I'm certain of it.' I replied solemnly.

'Your parents are real worried, they arrived in the chaos.' I gave a nod before rushing away. It seemed the whole school was looking for me.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter Ten

I was wondering whether I should see if Mrs. Phils had returned to her office but just as I reached it I heard someone scream from down the corridor. That was Roseate, I was sure of it. I hurried toward the sound knowing that the Other Mother most likely had something to do with it and that she was probably using Roseate to lure me out of hiding. I skidded round the corner.

'Let go of her!' I yelled.

'Coraline, run!' Roseate cried. The Other Mother let go of Roseate in an instant and with a smirk advanced toward me. I turned and ran. I had a sudden crazy thought and dashed for the boys' bathrooms. She would surely never think I would go in there? It didn't look much different from the girls' bathroom really. I leaned against the wall and tried to catch my breath.

'What's up, Cora?' I turned to see Orto leaning against one of the walls in a very laid back fashion. It was odd. I didn't feel shy toward him at all. Infact, I felt bitterness. Why hadn't he come and helped me like Wybie had? It was strange; everyone else seemed worried, but there was no evidence to suggest he was in any way. He seemed almost happy. I scowled at him. Maybe Neila did have a point when she said Orto had changed, perhaps I had just never noticed it before. He was acting very strange, there was something up with body language, and his smile; it looked like it should've belonged to someone else, it seemed unnatural, there was no expression or meaning in it, yet there was and I knew there was.

'I was escaping,' I garbled, 'she was after me,' I looked at him again, 'what is up with you!' He was starting to scare me.

'Nothing,' he replied and after that he seemed to go back to normal. Had it just been my imagination? He rushed up to me and suddenly grabbed my wrist. He led me out of the boys' bathrooms in an instant and then began to race down the corridor dragging me along behind him.

'Orto what are you doing!' I asked impertinently.

'Don't go with him, Coraline!' It was Wybie. He looked scared. Orto stopped and I almost crashed into him. 'Coraline, I've figured it out! You mustn't go with him!' Orto tightened his grip on my wrist.

'Come on, Coraline, he's wasting our time,' Orto said angrily.

'He doesn't mean you well!' Wybie exclaimed.

'Come on!' Orto muttered, trying to pull me away. I wouldn't be pulled. Something had suddenly crossed my mind; Wybie hadn't believed me about the Other Mother but that had been true, what if what Wybie was saying about Orto were true?

'Coraline, please, you must listen!' Wybie begged.

'I'm listening,' I replied. He gave a sigh and smile of relief. Orto glared at Wybie, then at me.

'You're not buying this loser's act, are you!' he snarled.

'Why don't you take off your shades, Orto!' Wybie asked him, crossing his arms.

'Why should I do what you say, loser!' Orto spat, without warning he pulled me away with a large amount of power. I didn't want to co-operate with this treatment.

'He's not a loser!' I snarled at Orto.

'Huh?' Orto replied in a bored tone.

'I said,' I began, glaring at him, 'that Wybie is not a loser!'

'He's an inconvenience,' he drawled, then quickly added, 'We, um, need somewhere to hide you. Uh, the high school,' I co-operated. Perhaps he did care after all . . .

We went to the second floor of the high school building and into a large, very basic room with a coffee machine on a worktop. Orto locked the door after us. I felt the wind blow in from a large open window at one end of the room.

'I know you were trying to help me, Orto' I began, 'but just dragging me off was not polite! Your mother . . !' He laughed. I stared.

'My _mother_, will be very proud of me,' he answered. He gave a small smile. 'You see, I didn't want to go to Spain, so I got myself a new mother . . .' He took his shades off. I gasped and stared in horror at his button eyes. I instantly made a dash for the door but he blocked my way. He took an overly large needle from his pocket that the Other Mother had obviously given to him and pointed it at me like a blade. I backed away. Oh, how could I have been so blind! Wybie and Neila had been right.

Why would Orto like me? He evidently never had, he had only pretended he liked me, he had been doing it for the Other Mother. I realized then that it had been Orto that the Other Mother had been talking to on the phone! And I knew what they had been talking about; it hadn't been coincidence that Orto had asked me out that same day; it had been planned. What was I gonna do now?

Suddenly the door handle began to turn. Orto ignored it, at first. He had locked it after all. But then, to both our surprise, it opened. Orto stared. In the doorway stood Wybie, Roseate, Neila, Annette and Waverly.

'I can pick locks, Orto,' Wybie snarled. In frustration, Orto made to stab me. I managed to dodge. The next thing I knew was Wybie was on top of him. 'How dare you try to harm her!' Orto punched Wybie hard and managed to get him off him. Orto glared at me.

I made a quick and rash decision; I went for the window. There was a pipe close by, I took hold of it and began to climb down. I looked down to see the patio below and directly below me was a pond. I climbed as quickly as I could down. The pipe was rusty and loose and suddenly it began to come away from the wall. I screamed. I fell. It was lucky the pond was quite deep because otherwise I could've hit my head on the bottom. I climbed out of the water, soaked thru. I looked up. Wybie was looking down from the window.

'I'm okay!' I shouted up to him. He waved, then disappeared from sight.

'Are you okay, darling?' I turned my head to see my mother; or, so I thought.

'Uh-huh,' I replied picking myself up and gave her a smile. I was so relieved to see her.

'You're soaked thru, treasure. We must get you home and get you cleaned up,'

'Where's Dad?' I inquired.

'He's already, gone home,'

'Huh? Why?'

'Well, my sweet, we thought you might've run home, like you did before, so your father drove home to look,' she replied. It seemed simple enough. 'I'm afraid that means we're going to have to walk home, doesn't it?' She gave a small laugh which made me, for some unknown reason, feel uncomfortable.

'Are you, alright, Coraline?' I turned to see Mrs. Phils hurrying up to us.

'She'll be much better, after she's rested,' my mother replied, 'she's completely bushed, poor little thing.'

'Well, I'm just glad she's safe,' Mrs. Phils said with a smile.

'Oh, yes,' my mother told her, 'she's perfectly safe with me. We'd better get home.'

'Yes, of course,' she said, 'Goodbye, Mrs. Jones. Goodbye, Coraline!' she called after us. We waved back.

It took us fifteen minutes for us to walk home. We said very little during that time. Mainly comments on the surroundings or weather. It was strange that she hadn't asked what exactly had happened but maybe she was just happy that I was okay.

'Won't be long 'til we're home, Coraline,' She put her hand on my shoulder. I shuffled away. It just didn't feel right somehow . . . 'Are you alright, sweetheart?'

'I'm – I'm not sure,' I replied. I felt as if there was something very wrong but there was surely nothing.

'You're over tired, you'll be fine once you get some rest . . .' I nodded. I thought she was probably right.

When we got home, I realized that my father wasn't there.

'He's probably gone back to the school, I'll send him a text in a minute. Won't you go and sit down in the drawing room, my dear.' _That's strange, _I thought, _my mother never normally let's me sit in the drawing room. _I walked slowly in and sat down. My mother walked in a little later.

'Did you call, Dad?' I asked her.

'I texted him saying, I got you home safely.'

'Hang on,' I said suddenly, standing up, 'you can't text! You said there was little use in it! You never bothered to learn!' And now that I thought about it, when did my _real _mother ever call me 'darling' or 'treasure' or 'sweetheart'! I stared at her in terror. How could I have been so stupid! She had used exactly the same trick before!

I made a run from the room as fast as I could. I had thought I was safe but I was far from it. I took my cell phone out of my pocket as I ran and dodged the Other Mother's efforts to grab me. I scrawled down to Wybie's name and texted in the letters SOS. I knew I couldn't risk calling him. The house was now in shambled, things broken, other stuff lying on their sides.

I wasn't really watching where I was going. I was doing anything just to dodge the Other Mother's advances. This may have seemed the best thing to do, just to focus on that, but I knocked my head hard against the wall. Suddenly everything went black.

I had knocked myself out.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter Eleven

I gave a groan and rubbed my head. I slowly opened my eyes. There was very little light. Where was I? I gradually started to remember what had happened. I groaned again. Why hadn't I watched where I was going? It suddenly hit me where I was; I was in that room, behind the mirror, in the Other Mother's house! I put my head in my hands.

I was barely less wet than I had been before. I was cold too. Cold, wet and miserable. I sat up. I'd thought I heard something moving, or perhaps someone?

'Hello?' I called out, 'anyone in here?'

'Oh, I didn't realize you were awake, child,' came a woman's voice, 'You've woken Yalia up, she was having a nap,'

'Oh, sorry. I was just . . . Hang on, did you say Yalia?'

'I'm – I'm here,' came a small miserable voice. I saw the two figures sitting by the bed in the corner of the room stand.

'I'm afraid you're in a lot of trouble, dear,' the woman said, 'that witch is really mad at you . . .' I swallowed hard. 'She said she was going off to try to think up a good punishment for you, her words, not mine,'

'What are you doing here exactly?' I asked her.

'She kidnapped me,' the woman said, 'wanted my job for some reason or another. Only kept me alive so she could get information about the school from me.' I suddenly realized that she was our Would-Have-Been-Principal who had gone missing. 'She kidnapped you too, didn't she?' I nodded and gave a heavy sigh.

'She didn't kidnap me,' Yalia sobbed, 'I, I came on my own accord!'

'Don't cry, Yalia. Everything will be alright,' I told her.

'No it won't, and I can't . . .'

'Can't what?' I asked her, feeling confused.

'I, I can't cry,'

'You mean, you're too upset?' I asked uncertainly.

'No, I mean, I really can't . . .' I moved toward her. She began to move away. 'Don't come any closer, Coraline, please!'

'Yalia, I need to,'

'I don't want you to see!' She covered her face. I went up to her.

'Yalia, I'm sorry. But . . .' I removed her hands from her face. I touched her hair, her chin, her nose and then . . . the buttons.

'I didn't want them!' she cried, 'I really didn't! She forced them on me! I tried to run when she took her shades off, but . . !' Her words turned into tearless wails and sobs. I felt like crying too.

'Yalia, don't worry, we'll get your eyes back; I promise you . . .'

'Why didn't I realize your story was real! Why didn't I realize that she was trying to lock you in the cupboard! Why . . .'

'Yalia, it'll be . . .'

'I wanna go home! I want my Mom and Dad!'

'I promise I'll get you out,' I told her, 'Now, you must stop . . .' She hugged me exceptionally tightly.

'Thanks, Coraline,' It was slightly difficult to breathe.

'But how are we going to get out of here?' the woman asked. I hadn't thought of that. 'She's not likely to come to get you out now, it's eight fifteen. Unless we can figure a way to get ourselves out . . .'

'Need some help?' We all turned our heads toward the back of the mirror and saw half of the cat sticking thru. We hurried over. 'I think she's asleep,' the cat continued, 'you, um, seem to have tired her out,' I gave a smile. 'I'm not completely certain so we'd better keep quiet.' One at a time, we took hold of his tail and he pulled us out. 'They all think you're dead, by the way,' the cat said to me casually.

'What! Who!'

'Oh, they all do,' he replied in the same tone, 'your mom, your dad, Miss Lovat, Miss Spink and Forcible . . .' I stared at him. 'Wybie's the only one that holds out any hope.'

'But why? Why do they think I'm dead?'

'Well, after what happened to Miss Lovat's sister, it makes sense I suppose . . .' I guess it did.

'But why didn't you think that too?' I asked.

'Knowing _her_ ways, she's not one for killing. Not straight away anyway. She prefers to play with her food first . . .' I gave a shiver. 'So, what's the plan then?'

'Well, gonna get back Yalia's eyes before anything else,'

'I would check outside before anywhere else if I were you, I think you'll find it a little different than you remember . . .'

'Okay,' I replied a little uncertainly.  


* * *

'See,' the cat said, 'I told you,' He was right. It looked almost completely different outside than it had before. Yalia clung to me. I looked behind me. The woman was evidently not particularly fit, she was panting hard; or was that the problem? Now that I looked at her properly she looked like she'd lost a lot of weight in a short time, she was pale and looked quite sickly, her blond hair was too thin for it to be naturally like it. I wished I had had some food I could've given her. Looking beyond her distressed state, Yalia was very healthy, too healthy, and had been probably given more than enough food.

We stepped down from the steps into the newly made garden. It was bright and colorful, a rainbow beamed down and the flowers slowly blew from side to side. This garden was much more twisted compared to the one that had been there before it, there were only slight hints that it indeed was close to being the same garden. Where would the Other Mother hide Yalia's eyes in all this? They could be anywhere. Well, at least I knew it would be around the size of a small ball and the same shape. When we reached where the hedges were at home we saw hedges alright but these where much taller, and there were more of them. It was a maze! What was this for? We stopped in our tracks.

'Be careful, child,' the woman warned, 'it might be dangerous,'

'Yes, but . . . um, what should I refer to you as?' I asked realizing I didn't know her name.

'Miss Barlow at school but as we're not now, Jade is fine,'

'Okay,' I answered, 'what I was gonna say, is that is it most likely is dangerous but if that's the case, it's even more likely that that is where Yalia's eyes are,' I took a step forward, then looked back, 'don't follow me,' I told them. 'I'll go check it out.' I was barely a few steps away.

'Hello, Coraline,' came the Other Mother's figureless voice from all around us. I took a few steps back. 'I thought we'd play a little game, your little friend's eyes are at the center of this maze, if you can get there, you can just take them. If you fail, you'll be mine forever.'


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter Twelve

I gulped. The first things that came into my mind were button eyes and the ghost children in their sorrowful state. I guess I should've suspected something like this. I looked over to where Yalia and the others were. I had no choice.

'Careful,' Miss Barlow warned, 'she might be trying to trick you.' The thought had occurred to me too but, no, the Other Mother had too much of a fixation on games to do that even if she thought of it. It would be very hard, I knew that, and it would be weighed terribly in her favor.

I'm going in,' I told them.

'Remember,' the cat said, 'she's not likely to play fair,'

'I, I know,' I replied in a slightly croaky voice. For a few moments I just stared up at the hedges and the passage infront of me. It was dark and fogy; there was a slight eeriness to it too. Miss Barlow came over and put a hand on my shoulder, Yalia stood on my other side. She gave me a quick hug which was a surprisingly big comfort to me. I took my coat and sweater off; I would most likely have to run, sodden, wet clothes would slow me down. As I took off my coat I felt into one of my pockets, my hand closed on the skeleton keys. Already in my mind I had formulated a plan of what we would do if I managed to succeed. I really didn't want to think about what would happen if I failed.

'Are you going or are you going to just stand here admiring the hedge work?' the cat asked in its usual tone. Yalia scowled at him. 'I was just asking,' he said to the small girl. I stepped forward into the maze, wondering what I was in for. I smiled back at Yalia just before the hedges closed behind me.

I turned to face the path beyond. There was no turning back now that was for sure. A slight wind was blowing as I began to walk down the passage.

Don't worry, Coraline,' said a voice, 'I'll help you,' I turned my head and to my amazement saw the angel of the sweet ghost girl next to me.

'How-how did you get here!' I asked in astonishment.

'Angels can go anywhere, including other worlds,' she replied.

'Right,' I said. I had so many questions to ask her that I couldn't think what to ask first. I decided to start with the obvious one. 'So, how exactly can you help me?'

'Well, I can go and check where dead ends are,' she answered, 'chances are if you go, the hedges will close behind and you will lose.' Well, that would certainly be a help.

'Thanks for coming to help,'

'No problem,' she replied, 'you certainly need some. It was pretty brave of you to try to get your friend's eyes out of here, especially when it clearly would be very difficult. I mean, with mine and the others' eyes, at least you had it fair getting them.' I smiled at her, trying to remember what Miss Lovat had told me her name was. Miss Lovat's first name was Tavena and her sister was called . . .

'Tasia? Is that your name?' I asked. She thought for a moment.

'You know, it does sound awfully familiar . . .'

'Yes, Tasia Lovat, you had a twin sister,'

'Yes, I believe you're right but how did you know . . ?' We stopped. Ahead there was a large amount of green mist.

'What is that?' I asked.

'I wish I knew,' she replied, 'I'll go and check it out.' I gave a nod. She hurried back, 'There appears to be nothing wrong with it,' she told me, 'it goes on for quite a while, after that, there's a fork.' We slowly began to walk forward. Tasia seemed to be correct; when we entered nothing happened.

My tiredness seemed to be getting to me; I was beginning to feel sleepy. For some reason I began to relax, any tension that there may have been in my muscles seemed to be disappearing and even my mind seemed to calm. I felt cozy, as if I were in a soft bed; was I floating? I felt light and day dreamy. I could see my parents in my mind's eye and Wybie, Roseate, an unbuttonized Yalia, waiting to welcome me home. I felt strangely content and happy. Surely it wouldn't matter if I closed my eyes for a moment?

'No, Coraline! Don't!' Tasia yelled.

'Huh?' I rubbed my eyes.

'Run, Coraline! It's this mist! She wants you to fall asleep!' I was more awake now and I realized she was right. And I knew if I stayed in the mist much longer I would fall asleep. I began to run. Hard as I could. It was such a struggle just to keep my eyes open. 'You can do it, Coraline!' Tasia told me. I kept closing and I had force them to open them again. I was soon on my hands and knees; too tired, too sleepy to run. 'You're almost there! Keep going! You can do it!' I made one last effort.

I fell flat on my face. I looked behind me. I was only inches out of the mist but already the sleepiness was beginning to wear off. I panted heavily and wiped the sweat from my forehead.

'Well done,'

'Thanks,' I replied, trying to catch my breath. I picked myself up. I felt slightly dizzy but besides that I was fine. I brushed the dirt off my shirt sleeve. That had been close, too close. If that was the first obstacle, what was coming next? 'We need to be more alert,' I told the angel. She nodded.

Suddenly, a strong wind began to blow threatening to push me back into mist. I grabbed part of the hedge and held on a tightly as I could. I reached forward for another part of the hedge I could hold onto and found a part.

'The beldam's really mad at you,' Tasia informed me over the sound of the wind.

'Can't you play fair!' I yelled. After a few moments the wind subsided. I heaved a sigh. 'Let's go, Tasia. Quick, incase she decides to start it up again.' We hurried off and soon came to the fork that Tasia had spoken of. She quickly checked which way we should go. The passage we went down was darker and there was blue and purple smoke ahead.

'Tell me if you feel odd,' Tasia told me, 'we don't want to risk something like in that mist.' As we headed on. Two figures emerged from the smoke. Two deformed figures. They looked much taller and thinner than they should've done. They were wearing what looked like what our school uniform would've looked like if it were rags. Their black buttons eyes were staring. I suddenly realized that they were twisted versions of Roseate and Neila. In a way they looked like some form of zombie and kinda moved like zombies too but at the same time they moved like wide up toys. Their hands had no skin, there was only bone; their hair looked like wires and flashed as if they were giving off electricity; their teeth were yellow and sharp.

'Tasia,' I asked, 'what do we do?'

'I don't know, Coraline,' The creatures started to advance toward us at a running pace. They ran like you might think a werewolf might run, almost on all fours but not quite; their hands were near the ground, and were moving but they were not actually touching it.

They advanced too quickly. I screamed as they fell on me like savage dogs. Their breath smelt of rotten cheese. One of them ripped my shirt, giving me massive cuts on one of my arms. Tasia managed to pull one of them off me. I made a grab for the other's button eyes; it grabbed my other arm in its jaws and sunk its teeth into it. I screamed in pain and pulled at the buttons which came away. The creature let go of my arm and got off me. It began to run around madly yelping in pain and fury. I got the distinct impression that the fury wasn't really coming from the creature itself but from the beldam.

'How do you think we are supposed to get passed them?' I asked the angel.

'Maybe there's someway of stopping them, something we have to say?' she suggested.

'You mean,' I said, 'like a password?' She nodded. I tried to think. It wouldn't be something obvious. She wouldn't have done that; I had managed to get into her school account hadn't I? 'Do you have any ideas, Tasia?'

'I'm-I'm sorry . . .'

'Not your fault,' I told her. The creature which still had its buttons advanced toward us again. I desperately tried to think but everything I thought up I knew would be too obvious. As the creature came toward us, we backed away. As I watched it, I suddenly noticed something; reflected in each of its button eyes was a swinging pendulum. It reminded me of hypnosis but also made me realize what the password was. 'Clockwork!' I shouted.

The creatures both froze, quickly becoming black and white and then turned to dust and blew away. I panted hard. I felt really tired after that.

'I'll go and check out which way we should go,' Tasia told me, 'I advise you take a quick rest while I'm gone,' I nodded. 'Won't be long.' She flew off rapidly. I wondered where I could find a place to rest.

I suddenly caught sight of an indentation in part of the hedge slightly further on. I headed over to it and leaned back. It felt so good. It was strange; it looked like the hedges were getting taller. Maybe if I went and looked at it a different way, I would be able to see. I tried to move my feet but I couldn't. I looked down. I gasped. The hedges weren't getting taller, I was sinking! The ground below me was marshy and like quick sand. I desperately tried to pull my feet out but it was in vain. I was almost knee deep by now. I needed help.

'Tasia!' I cried, 'Tasia! Help!'


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter Thirteen

What was I going to do? I would surely drown if someone didn't come and help me.

'Help!' I continued to scream but it was obviously doing little good. Tasia had most likely decided to take longer to give me a longer rest and / or double check so that she could ensure that we didn't risk a situation like in the mist; perhaps even there was something and she was doing her best to tackle it or think what to do. I struggled and struggled, trying desperately to pull myself out of the bog; it was useless. _Oh, help!_ I thought, in despair, putting my head in my hands, _somebody, anybody._

'Oh, dear! We are in a bit of trouble aren't we?' I looked up to see the Other Mother standing beside the bog that I was stuck in; she looked as if she was rather enjoying herself. (I was up to my waist in muck by this time.)

'What do you want?' I asked impertinently.

'You look as if you need a little assistance . . .' she said while grinning nastily down at me.

'What's it to you!'

'I could pull you out, if you surrender to me . . . Or I could just leave you here to drown, of course; your choice.'

'I'd rather drown!' I yelled at her.

'Have it your way then, Coraline. I'll just stand here and watch you die! Such a shame . . .' I knew what she wanted, she wanted me to start begging her for mercy at the last moment and she was prepared to wait to see what I would do. I hurriedly tried to think of something I could do to get myself out but there was no question about it; someone would have to pull me out.

'You do realize that me drowning won't benefit either of us!' I snarled at her. She didn't reply and her expression remained the same but I did notice that her muscles seemed to tense slightly. She had clearly already realized this. I wondered what she was thinking.

All the while I was constantly aware that I was slowly sinking. I was almost chest deep. I glanced around nervously but there was no sign of the little angel. I thought that perhaps I should just close my eyes; at least I wouldn't have to look at the Other Mother's button eyed stare.

'Won't be long now, Coraline,' the Other Mother told me with a malicious smile, 'no-one will ever know what became of you. Poor little Coraline drowning in a bog!'

'Shut up!' I snapped, having trouble holding back tears. She gave a chuckle. The muck was close to my shoulders by this time and I was beginning to really panic although I wasn't showing it. I didn't want her to see it.

There was only a little hope left in me; I didn't want to look down the passage, Tasia wouldn't be coming. But I couldn't resist the urge to look. I turned my head. I stared. There was someone flying toward us. Tasia! I smiled in relief.

'Tasia!' I shouted, 'Tasia hurry! I'm drowning! Help me!' The Other Mother was very surprised and stared as the angel increased her speed coming toward us. Tasia was horrified at how close I was to going under (the muck was half way up my neck). She reached down and grabbed my arms. She pulled me out with amazing strength. The beldam glared at her. Before this, it had never occurred to me that angels could look angry but Tasia certainly did. She clenched her fists tightly and glared back with narrowed eyes.

'That was a dirty trick,' she muttered loudly. The beldam made to punch her but her hand went thru Tasia and the angel felt nothing. A moment later the Other Mother disappeared into thin air with a mad expression on her face.

'You were pretty brave,' I told Tasia. The angel gave a shrug.

'Not really, I'm dead, it's not like she can hurt me,' I guess she had a point but still . . .

'Thanks for getting me out of there,'

'It's okay, I just wish I'd come back sooner. I'm so sorry. You alright?'

'Uh-huh, why did you take so long anyway?'

'Well, there were some, well, creatures down some of the passages; the ones that led to dead ends. But the good news is that we're almost at the center,' she told me. I gave a sigh of relief. Suddenly the line of hedges began to close in on us with a tremendous sound like that of loud grinding crossed with thunder. 'Come on,' Tasia called, 'it's not far!' Once we were into the next passage, the hedges stopped moving. The angel flew rapidly down the passages and I followed at a slow jog. She occasionally stopped to give me time to catch up.

As I turned another corner, I saw the center of the maze ahead. I increased my speed. The area ahead was a patio apart from small patches of grass every so often. There were fountains which were painted white and statues the same color. It seemed to be quite peaceful. There were three pools of water; the water was clean and pure, each pool had a ring of white bricks, two layers high, around it. It gave me the impression of tiles around a swimming pool. Two of these pools were quite small, the other was bigger.

In the very center was the largest fountain. As I went closer I realized that it involved a statue of the button eyed Yalia. There was something in her hands. I went closer and saw that it was a golf ball. Was this the object that contained Yalia's eyes? I picked it up. I looked around. Nothing happened. The Other Mother had said that I would be able to just take them but . . .

'Is something wrong, Coraline?' Tasia asked, 'you have your friend's eyes.'

'I don't think,' I said slowly, 'I don't think this is the right object . . .' Tasia stared.

'You don't?'

'Think about it, if these were Yalia's eyes, wouldn't I see her face reflected in it like with yours? And don't you think something would happen? The Other Mother would be angry, if I'd actually found them.' I didn't let it on, but I secretly began to panic. If I'd failed to get this far, I would never know whether Yalia's eyes were here! What if they weren't here at all? What if everything we had done had been a waste?

'And I doubt your friend likes golf,' Tasia said.

'Huh?'

'Well, I've always been fond of the circus,' she replied. I didn't understand for a minute and then I remembered that her eyes had been in a ball from the mouse circus. It had never occurred to me that what the eyes were in actually related to the children themselves. I thought for a moment. 'What are you thinking?'

'Neila once told me that Yalia loves swimming,'

'So?' she asked. I pointed to the largest pool and she understood what I meant. I went over to it. I looked at my reflection in the water and realized what a sight I looked; I was covered in cuts and grazes, covered in dirt, clothes ripped. I looked down into the water. It was pretty deep. I was about to get wetter. _At least it will get rid of some of the dirt,_ I thought as I prepared to get into the pool. 'Be careful,' she said.

'I will be,' I replied. I took a deep breath and dived into the water. It was a very good thing I had learnt to open my eyes underwater. As I swam down, I saw various types of tropical fish and the occasional seahorse. I caught sight of a bunch of pebbles at the bottom. I went up for air and then dived back down. I swam rapidly down to them and starting searching thru them.

I was running out of air, I would have to go up soon, I was just about to when I caught sight of a pebble more round and lighter than the others. There was a slight pink tint to it and when I looked closer, I could see Yalia's face reflected in it. I grabbed it and began to swim as quickly as I could to the surface for I desperately needed to breathe. The creatures in the pool began to turn savage and chase after me. They looked more like small sharks now. They grabbed my clothes and tried to pull me back down. I knew I wouldn't last much longer if I didn't get air within a few seconds. I struggled with all my mite and with one last effort managed to get to the surface. Tasia hurried over.

'Are you alright?' she asked while helping me out of the pool. I coughed and spluttered before replying that I was. Suddenly the ground began to shake violently, the sky began to roar. The pools of water transformed into small volcanoes and started erupting ash and lava; lightning came from the sky and struck only a few inches away from where I was. I screamed. 'Come on! Hurry! The beldam is furious with you!' Tasia yelled over noise, 'Come on! Follow me! Come on!' I hurried after her dodging the lightning and fast flowing lava. At the maze exit, we were met by the cat. The sky gave one last rumble and then there was silence. I sighed with relief. I smiled. I couldn't help feeling proud.

'Coraline! You won! Is that, is that an angel?' I turned to see Yalia running toward me looking delighted. I guess I'd kinda forgotten that seeing ghosts and angels wasn't a normal occurrence. I passed Yalia the pebble. She clutched it in both hands while smiling up at me. 'Were you one of the ghost kids that Coraline saved?' she asked Tasia. The angel nodded and smiled at her.

'Your eyes will be back soon,' Tasia told her, then her smile subsided.

'What's wrong?' I inquired.

'Well, it's just that, well, you . . . She . . .'

'Yes?' I said urgently.

'I'm sorry, I can't say, but . . .' There was silence for a moment. 'It's great what you've done for your friend. I just wish fate could . . . I must go, goodbye, Coraline. I wish I could help you more . . .'

'You've done so much already though, what more could you do?'

'I guess you're right,' she replied, 'there's just some things angels can't interfere with . . . Goodbye, Coraline.' She disappeared. I didn't understand. She had looked so sad. And what had she been on about?

'Do you know what we're going to do next?' Miss Barlow asked. I nodded. I picked up the clothes I had left and got the skeleton keys out.

'We'll have to wait until she's gone to sleep,' I began. I passed the keys to Miss Barlow, 'you and Yalia get to the door and open it using one of these.'

'What about you?' Yalia asked.

'I'll-I'll get the real key off her,'

'Honey, what if she catches you?' Miss Barlow said in a shocked and worried tone, 'And why is it necessary to . . .'

'It's the only way to prevent her being able to come back out,' I explained, 'If the door is open when I come with the real key, it will make things quicker and we are more likely to be able to escape. As soon as you've opened it go and unlock the door on the other side.' They nodded. Yalia looked like she was about to cry. 'Yalia, uh, just in case I, um, don't get a chance to tell you, when you get home, put the pebble under your pillow before you go to sleep.' She nodded solemnly.

'But you will,' Yalia began, 'you will, I mean, what if . . ?'

'I'll be fine, don't worry,' I answered. I turned to the cat, 'could you go and watch, come and tell us when she's gone to sleep?' He nodded and padded off. While we were waiting I put my coat back on and tied my sweater around my waist. The cat soon came back.

'She's asleep,' he told us, 'the key is in her nightdress pocket,' he added. I nodded nervously. 'Now, if you don't mind, I'm going back; I think Wybie might need some company tonight.'

'But it's so late!' I exclaimed and looked over at Yalia who was yawning, 'Why . . ?' I stopped, I knew why. I felt bad, I had never had the chance to thank him for coming to help me. The cat could see that I didn't need an explanation after all. He gave a nod and vanished behind a tree. After a moment, Miss Barlow turned to me,

'You are indeed a very brave child,' she told me. I didn't know what to say. Yalia gave a nod and hugged me.

'Right,' I said, not showing how scared I was, 'let's go.'

The other two hurried off. I slowly approached the staircase. I swallowed hard and quietly as I could, I went up. I crept along the corridor. Every sound seemed to be louder than it actually was. Even though I was aware of this, I still felt worried. What if she woke? What would I do then? I slowly opened the door. She was still asleep. I was relieved but it wasn't over yet. I tiptoed over to the bed. The Other Mother was smirking in her sleep; I wondered what she was dreaming about. I didn't wonder for long.

'Oh, of course it doesn't hurt, Coraline . . .' she muttered in her sleep, 'are you sure you want black? Blue would go with your hair . . .' I shivered. There was no doubt in my mind what she was dreaming about. I reached to pull the covers back. Slowly and carefully I did. I could see the key in her pocket. With a trembling hand, I reach for it. I had it. I moved backward toward the door but I tripped over a pile of clothes on the floor.

'Woah!' I shouted as I crashed to the ground. I quickly picked myself up. I stared.

'You insolent child!' the Other Mother screamed. I gasped. I had woken her up! She caught sight of the key in my hand. She was furious. I bolted from the room as fast as I could. Behind me I could hear the Other Mother's yells of frustration. I tripped on the stairs and tumbled down them. I quickly picked myself up and raced on. I looked behind me and saw her making to grab me. I screamed and only just to avoid her grasp. I burst into the drawing room.

'Go! Go! Go!' I cried. I dived for the door. The other two were almost at the other side but they were moving slowly because it was hard for Miss Barlow because the door was child size really. I was just about to turn to lock the door when a hand grabbed my ankle. I screamed.

'Coraline!' Yalia cried, 'No!' She hurried back down the tunnel toward me but I knew it was no good.

'No, Yalia! Just go! You're not strong enough!' I shouted back while struggling which I realized was completely in vain. I knew it was most likely that Yalia would get dragged back in too if she tried.

'I can't leave you!'

'Yalia, you have to! Go! Go home! You can't do anything!' She hesitated and I could tell that if she had been able to cry she certainly would've been then. 'Go, both of you!' They went looking miserable and guilty. I stopped struggling. There was no point. She would never let go of me. Tears started to roll down my cheeks. I knew that I was surely doomed.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter Fourteen

I was pulled back into the dreaded house and was greeted by the beldam's triumphant face. I looked away. I didn't want to see it. All was surely lost. She took the key from my hand and locked the door. She then slipped it back into her nightdress pocket. What was she going to do to me? Her button eyes were fixed on me. I tried not look as frightened as I felt. She dragged me into the kitchen. She told me to lean down; she took a piece of wood from the side which had been the rod my father had been trying to use but now it looked more like a cane.

'This is for your own good, Coraline,' she said, 'you need to be disciplined.' I gritted my teeth; I knew what was going to do, she was going to hit me with it; I wasn't going to give her the satisfaction of hearing me screaming in pain.

I didn't scream but I couldn't prevent the tears flowing down my face as she hit me behind the knees. I lost count after twenty strikes; I couldn't help suspecting she was doing it more because she was mad at me for not screaming. When she finally stopped, she went to the draw and produced a rusty front door key.

She dragged me out of the front door, down the steps and round to the other side of the house. She unlocked the door to the unoccupied flat. There was very little furniture, but there marks were furniture used to be. The furniture which was there was covered in dust and cobwebs. The wallpaper was faded and peeling. What had she brought me here for?

On reaching an abandoned bedroom, she opened a trap door with a large metal ring. I stared down into the cellar below. Without warning, she pushed me in. I tumbled down the steps and landed hard on the ground beneath. I looked up to see her shutting the trap door. I was plunged into darkness.

I scrambled around trying to find the steps back up but quickly gave up. If there was a chance I could push the trap door back up, she would've put something over the top of it to stop me. I tried to sit cross legged on the ground but it hurt and I tried to take another position. The area behind my knees stung so painfully. I had cried so much that was unable to cry anymore. Instead I sat there trembling, letting out the occasional whimper. It was the only way I able to let my emotions out.

I thought of my poor parents. I thought of poor Miss Barlow and Yalia who had had to tell them what had happened. I thought in despair of the hope that had been in my heart after I got outta that maze. How I had thought I was going to get home and be with my parents soon; how close it had been to happening. If I had only run a tiny bit faster I would've been home!

I thought of the angel's sad face and realized that she had known that this was gonna happen. She had wanted to tell me this, and perhaps more. How much did she know? How far into the future had she been able to see? I tried to reassure myself; there were no buttons in my eyes, for one thing; that meant I was reasonable safe didn't it? But then I remembered what Yalia had said; the beldam had forced the buttons on her. I wondered how exactly did the beldam sew buttons into your eyes and remove the true eyes at the same time? Some kind of magic, perhaps? I hoped I would never find out.

A thought suddenly occurred to me; Yalia had looked very healthy, and she had had button eyes. Had I got her out just in time? That would explain why the Other Mother was being particularly horrid; I had denied her a meal, although, she was likely to be like it whatever mood she was in, and, I had done a lot to inconvenience her. I suddenly became aware of squeaking and something ran over my leg. I yelped. _Oh great,_ I thought_, there are rats down here._

I was still very wet and very cold, even more so from swimming in that pool in the center of the maze. I lied down and tried to get comfortable; the best thing would be to get some sleep if I could. At least if I was asleep, I wasn't constantly aware of the pain and discomfort I was in or the rats. I put my head on my hands and closed my eyes, telling myself to sleep.

It took a long time until I actually fell asleep, and I doubt it was for very long, I just remember waking feeling stiff and achy. At first, I thought I'd fallen out of bed and I called out for my mom and dad. After a few moments, I realized they wouldn't be coming. I wondered what the time was, and I wondered how long I'd been there. For a moment, I thought I saw Tasia above me, looking more miserable than before, but then there was nothing.

About a minute later, however, I heard a scraping noise from above, then, suddenly, light poured in. It hurt my eyes and I had to shield them from the light. The Other Mother looked dark against the moonlight. In a way, I would've preferred to stay in the cellar. She was no longer in her nightdress and her hair looked slightly damp from washing. She was wearing a tight dress and a pair of high heels. She came down the steps toward me. I quickly picked myself up and scowled at her.

'Oh, Coraline, don't be like that! You had to be taught a lesson!' she told me. I continued to scowl and began to back away from her. 'You know that I love you.' I glared at her.

'Ha! You were going to let me drown in that bog!'

'Oh, darling, did you really think I would let that happen?' she replied, 'If you'd gone under, I would've pulled you out.' I wasn't sure whether to believe her or not; after all, if I'd drowned, it would've been a draw. If I had drowned, she wouldn't have had me. She wrapped her arms around me; I instantly felt like I was freezing. 'Why don't you come up to the kitchen, my sweet? And we can have breakfast together.'

'No,' I replied, 'I don't want to eat with you. And I don't want to eat your food.' Her button eyes flashed in anger, her muscles tensed and I could feel her sharp fingernails sticking in my back.

'But you must be very hungry, treasure,' she said in usual tone but I could still detect her anger in her voice. It was true, I was starving. 'I only want what's best for you . . .'

'You kidnapped me!' I shouted. 'You are sick and evil! I know what you _really_ want!' There was a pause.

'It seems,' she began, close to losing her temper, 'that somebody hasn't learned their lesson . . .' For a moment, I thought she was going to go and shut the trap door again but she didn't. She grabbed my nose and dragged me up the steps and out of the unoccupied flat back to hers. Once we reached the kitchen, she handed me a rag. 'You can start with the kitchen,' she told me, 'you can clean this house until you've learned your lesson! This kitchen better be spotless by the time I come back!' She left me alone and went into the garden. I wondered what she was going to do out there. It occurred to me that perhaps she was going to try to block the pathways in and out so the cat was unable to get back in. I gave a heavy sigh and began to clean one of the surfaces.

* * *

I looked nervously around the kitchen, wondering whether it would be defined as 'spotless' or not. What if it wasn't? She would surely be back soon. I thought I heard someone softly say my name but I was surely just imagining it, trying to keep hoping.

'Coraline, is that you?' came a voice a little louder. I turned abruptly to see Wybie standing in the doorway wearing a pair of baggy jeans and his usual jacket. I exclaimed in delight, threw down the rag I was holding and hurried over to him. I embraced him tightly. I had never been so happy to see him.

'Wybie, what are you doing here? How did you get in?' I asked.

'Well, I, I can pick locks remember . . ?' he told me, showing me the pin he had used, 'And, well, I came to get you out . . .'

'Your grandma let you come?'

'Uh, well, not exactly . . . Actually, she grounded me after I told her I was gonna come. I had to sneak outta the house and get into the Pink Palace by an open window . . .'

'You disobeyed your grandma to come and help me?'

'Well, yeah, I had to. But you'll never believe me . . .'

'Tell me,' I said to him, 'I'll listen this time.'

'Well, I had this dream. But it wasn't a normal dream; the angel of my grandma's sister came to me, told me that unless I came and helped you, you would, you would . . .' I waited for a moment. 'you would die.' I stared at him with horror. I was about to ask him something when I heard the front door slam.

'Coraline! You'd better have finished the kitchen!' the Other Mother shouted. I gasped.

'Wybie, I gotta hide you!' I whispered, 'quick, go and hide in the utility room! Hurry!' He hurried out of the room. The Other Mother entered the room a few seconds later. Wybie was lucky; if he'd gone only a tiny bit faster or slower, he would've been spotted.

'Were you talking to someone, Coraline?' she asked while inspecting the room.

'I was, talking, to myself,' I told her, making sure I kept eye contact so it looked less like I was lying. She appeared to believe me. 'Everything seem to be order, you can get started cleaning the drawing room now.' Once she had pulled me into the room, she stopped and stared. The little door was a crack open. She glared at me.

'It-it wasn't me!' I exclaimed, 'perhaps, perhaps you didn't shut it properly!' She looked at me suspiciously before going over to the door to shut and lock it. I just stood there watching her. I knew very well who had left it open.

'What are you just standing there for!' tbe beldam snapped, 'get to work!' I gave a sigh and began to work. 'if you're a good girl,' the other mother began, 'I could get you that puppy you were begging your _old_ parents for.'

'How-How do you know about that!'

'Oh, Neila might've mentioned it to me . . .' It was then I realized that she had been using Neila to get information and this was most likely how she found out I liked cupcakes so much. She had been using Neila as her eyes and ears like she had used those dolls. 'She also seemed to think you were scared of me . . .'

'I'm not scared of you!' I shouted although she frightened me a great deal. She just smiled. 'And I don't want anything from you, I just want you to let me go!'

'You are not going anywhere, Coraline. And you will clean until the whole of downstairs is done even if you have to stay up for the whole night. Is that clear!'


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter Fifteen

At fifteen minutes to midnight, I dragged myself up the stairs to my bedroom or, the bedroom which wasn't mine. On the bed, the beldam had left a pair of white pajamas with pictures of black buttons on. I despised them. But I knew I couldn't go to bed in my school uniform, or, what was left of it. I hadn't realized until I had been doing the washing up earlier in the day how bad it was; the only explanation I could come up with was that the rats had ripped and bitten my clothes while I slept in the cellar.

Once I'd put them on, I glared resentfully down at the pajamas.

A few moments later, I heard footsteps coming down the corridor. I felt a pit in my stomach and gave a shudder. The Other Mother pushed the door open and came into the room.

'You all done then?' she asked with a smirk.

'Yes,' I replied flatly.

'Good,' she said slowly. I waited for more. 'I'm going to lock the door to ensure you don't try and escape. I've got a few more surprises for you tomorrow.' As she left the room, closed the door and locked it, I began to worry what kinda 'surprises' the Other Mother had in store for me the next day. I went to sit by the window and starred up at the moon, longing to be with my real parents and wishing that someone would pinch me and tell me it was all just a bad dream; even to wake up on the first day of term again. I began to cry hopeless tears.

'Don't cry, Coraline. It'll be alright,' came Wybie's voice. I turned in surprise. 'I was hiding in the closet,' he explained, 'snuck up earlier,'

'Will it be, Wybie? Will it really?' I asked, ' 'cause I really don't know anymore . . .'

'It will be, promise,' he told me. I remembered saying something similar to Yalia the previous day and made an attempt at a smile. 'You should try and get to sleep,' he said. I nodded.

'What about you?' I asked. He gave a small awkward laugh.

'The closet is surprisingly comfortable!' he responded. I wished he could've slept somewhere else but it would be too risky for him to.

I didn't sleep for ages despite the fact I was exhausted. My stomach ached in hunger; I felt sick and a little dizzy too from my hunger. When I finally fell asleep I had a nightmare; I was walking down the corridor toward the mirror. As I walked I heard voices which were squeaky, whiney and creepy all at the same time. They were singing; _**'We are small but we are many,**__**We have teeth and we have tails,**__**We have tails we have eyes, We are many we are small,**__**We have eyes and we have nerveses,**__**You will get what you deserveses . . .'**_

I felt the voices belonged in the cellar for some reason. As I got closer to the mirror, I realized I had button eyes then the beldam appeared and started laughing at my horror; suddenly I was a ghost child with no hope and unable to remember my own name . . ! Then I woke. Panting heavily. Feeling terrified. It was one thing to wake from a nightmare at home knowing it was just that, a nightmare, but here, knowing that it could happen, made it far worse.

'Coraline? Are you okay?' Wybie asked.

'I'm-I'm-I'm f-f-fine,' I stuttered.

'You really don't sound it,' came his concerned voice.

'I'll be fine, just give me a moment . . .'

'I've been thinking,' Wybie began after a moment, 'if we snuck out now, I mean, I can pick the lock in the door with a pin, she won't think . . .'

'The problem is, Wybie, we need the key even if we can get out without it to prevent her from coming out again,' I told him. He didn't say anything. 'But it could still help, if she's off guard, it should be easier to get the key off her if we surprise her,' I thought for a moment. The Other Mother wouldn't have sneaked into the Pink Palace to get Yalia thru, that meant . . . 'Wybie, I think there's more than one way in and out of here,'

'Huh?'

'I mean I think she's most likely created another passage, one tall enough for her to walk thru. If we could find it, we could use that one to get out, and it would catch her off guard because she doesn't think we know about it!'

'That's great, but we need to find this passage first,'

'We could sneak down stairs and look there first, I mean right now. I don't know what the time is but she's unlikely to be awake now.'

'That's a rad idea!'

'We'd better keep quiet though,' I warned him, 'we don't want her to know you're here and she'll want to know how I got outta the bedroom.' He gave a nod. After a few moments, Wybie had unlocked the door. It swung open with a creak. We both held our breath, but no movement came from the beldam's room. We crept down the stairs, moving down the stairs at exactly the same time so that, just in case she was awake, it sounded like one person rather than two.

When we reached the bottom of the staircase, we let out sighs of relief. It wouldn't be in the same room as the little door, I decided; she wouldn't have it in the bedroom I slept in because it would be too risky I would find it and escape nor would she have it in her own room because it would be too obvious then if I did suspect something.

We searched the study first, then around the hot water tank (although we knew this was unlikely) then the dining room but still nothing. It was almost five thirty when we went into the kitchen feeling frightened that if we didn't go back up soon, the beldam would come down and find us. We searched thru the cupboards and found nothing. We were about to go back up when I caught sight of the refrigerator. _I wonder,_ I thought. I opened it. There was only food but then I noticed a small, what looked like, a key hole.

'Wybie, I think this is it!' I whispered excitably. We got closer and looked thru the key hole. It was quite hard to see but one thing I was sure of was that there was indeed a passage way. I kissed him on the cheek in happiness. He blushed crimson. 'We'll go tomorrow,' I told him, 'we'd better get upstairs before she comes down.'

'Coraline, I have a bad feeling . . .'

'Huh?'

'We need to go now!'

'What? Why?'

'I-I don't know. But there's a voice in my head telling me we must!'

'Wybie, you're worried, that's all . . .'

'But it's not my voice! It belongs to a girl!' So? What did that have to do with anything? A girl's voice . . ! We couldn't anyway, we needed to get the key. Wybie gave up and we went back upstairs and carefully shut the door. I got back into bed and fell asleep quite quickly, my worries were leaving my mind. I would soon see my parents and be safe at last. We would go quite early in the morning, when the beldam had barely woken up. I surely wouldn't sleep for much time anyway . . .


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter Sixteen

'Coraline, my little doll, time to wake up,' came the Other Mother's voice from above me. I woke with a start.

'What time is it?' I asked sleepily.

'It's ten o'clock, sweetheart,' she replied in her usual tone. I was suddenly fully awake. It was so late! The escape plan had been partially relying on an early start! I hoped my face didn't show my thoughts. 'Breakfast will be ready shortly, Coraline. Get dressed and come down.' I quickly got up and put what remained of my school uniform on. I opened the closet expecting to see Wybie but saw nothing but clothes. Where was he?

I went down the stairs as slowly as possible and then went into the kitchen. I knew, no matter how much I didn't want to, I had to eat something. As I sat down, it suddenly struck me that something might've happened to Wybie. Had the beldam found him? I felt a surge of panic. I wanted to demand that she told me where he was but I knew that I could give him away if she didn't know that he was here. She put a plate of pancakes in front of me.

'Eat up, my sweet,' she told me, 'once you've finished your breakfast, you can start cleaning upstairs until I call you to come into the drawing room.' I tried not to eat too fast but I was famished, I couldn't help it. I ended up giving myself indigestion. She put a couple of pieces of buttered toast on my plate and watched me as I ate them.

When I'd finished eating, and had had a glass of orange juice, I went upstairs. As I cleaned, I looked for Wybie but I couldn't find him. Perhaps I should've listened more carefully to what he had been saying in the early hours of the morning. I was tempted to go and check behind the mirror to see if he were there, dead or alive. No, he wasn't dead, he couldn't be dead.

'Coraline,' the Other Mother called, 'time to come into the drawing room,' I gave a sigh, it looked like I'd have to find Wybie later, where ever he was. I came down the stairs feeling uncomfortable; why did she want me to come to the drawing room? Wouldn't it be more likely that I would try and escape if I were in there?

I entered the room slowly, my heart thumping. I felt very frightened but I did not know why; it was as if my subconscious knew something which the rest of me didn't. It was pretty dark and there was only a flicker of green flame coming from the fireplace. As my eyes got used to the dark, I could just about make out the furniture, shadows and walls. The doors closed behind me and I wondered whether I should've found something to wedge them open. I really felt there was something wrong. I suddenly became aware of tiny voices which were squeaky, whiney and creepy all at the same time; _**'**__**We were here before you rose, You will be here when we rise, We were here before you fell, We will be here when you fall . . .'**_

I thought I'd heard something like it before, at least, the tone. But what did it mean? Or did it mean anything? I couldn't tell. A rat suddenly ran past me, making me jump.

'Coraline, there you are,' came the beldam's voice from the center of the room, 'be a good girl and stand by that far wall. No, a little to the right, left a little, back a bit more,' Why did she want me to stand here? I had a very bad feeling about this. 'that's perfect . . .' Suddenly, spider silk snapped around my wrist and ankles attaching me to the wall. I let out a yell and tried desperately to try and pull myself free. The beldam gave laugh, got up from the couch, and went over to the fireplace; I could now see that she had returned to her absolute true spider form. By the firelight, I could see her thread a rather large needle.

'No!' I screamed. She gave an evil chuckle. 'I don't want them! Don't!'

'Don't worry, Coraline. Everything will be fine . . .' she said silkily, 'It won't hurt a bit . . .' I could tell by the look on her face as she advanced toward me, needle in hand, that it would hurt a lot. I struggled and struggled, knowing that it was no good. The binding needed to be cut with something. I kept struggling even so until I was quite exhausted. This couldn't happen! It just couldn't!

It wasn't fair! I should've been home with my _real_ parents! I screamed and screamed until I was too scared to scream anymore. She stopped infront of me and I could see that she had a couple of buttons in her other hand. I jostled my head from side to side in an attempt to prevent her from placing a button on one of my eyes; it wasn't like I was able to cover my face. She put the needle and buttons in her left hand and held my head still. She stroked my face with the long fingers of her right hand, sending shivers down my spine.

'Everything's going to be alright . . .' she said softly. I knew very well it wasn't. She transferred the needle and one of the buttons back to her right hand. She placed the other button on top of my eye.

'Leave me alone you evil old witch!' I shouted at her, close to tears. She simply smiled and brought the needle closer to my left eye. I couldn't prevent myself from trembling. This was the end; end of all hope, and dreams of getting home. There were only a few seconds left before that first stitch; 5 . . . 4 . . . 3 . . . 2 . . . 1 . . . The door burst open. The beldam stopped and turned her head in surprise. Wybie charged into the room with the expression of utmost rage on his face. He rushed at the surprised beldam, knocking her across the room. In a flash, he grabbed a penknife from his pocket and cut the spider silk around my wrists and ankles.

'Are you okay, Coraline?'

'Yes,' I replied breathlessly, 'just a little shaken up. Thanks.' I looked over to where the beldam was, she was clutching her head but that wasn't the only thing; close to her, lay the key. She must've swallowed it the night before and accidentally coughed it up after the attack Wybie had made. I made the decision. 'Wybie, go to the refrigerator and pick the lock,'

'But . . !'

'There's no time to argue! This is my only chance to get that key!' He gave a solemn nod and quickly placed a kiss on my cheek before hurrying off to the kitchen. It gave me the courage and determination I needed. I raced over and made a grab for the key. The beldam, realizing what had happened and what I was trying to do made to grab the key too. I only just managed to get it first. She yelled in rage and tried to grab me. She only just missed. I dashed for the kitchen.

'She's right behind you!' Wybie yelled, 'Hurry!' I put all my strength in. I wasn't gonna let her catch me like last time. I crawled under the table to dodge another attempt to grab me and transferred the key temporarily to my left hand. I tried to pull myself up using the work tops but I accidentally put my left hand on the stove. It was still hot. I yelped and dropped the key. I made to grab it. So did the beldam. Both of us caught it. There was a frantic struggle as we tried to get possession of the key. Wybie hurried over to help me.

We pulled as hard as we could. During this the key touched the hot stove frequently and became hot. It was starting to burn my hands but I knew I couldn't let go. I couldn't take the burning sensation anymore, nor could the beldam. We both let go at the same time and the key went flying thru the air. On landing, it snapped in two. I grabbed the end which locked the door.

Wybie and I fled toward the refrigerator. We grabbed each others hands and ran as fast as we could. We came to the end of the tunnel to find a large piece of wood with a key hole like had been in the back of the refrigerator. Wybie took a pin from his pocket and picked the lock within a few moments. We pushed but it wouldn't go. There was something else blocking it on the other side!

'No!' I shouted, 'Wybie, what do we do?' I felt so helpless. He didn't reply but I could see he was sharing the same feelings as I was. We had been so close! We were surely done for. I turned to see a pair of huge claw like hands coming toward us. I clutched Wybie to me. It was over. Or was it? Suddenly we heard a voice from the other side of the wood.

'Mom, I'm certain I heard Coraline's voice!' It was Roseate!

'Roseate!' I yelled, 'Help us! We're trapped!'

'Keep calm,' came Mrs. Phils's voice, 'We'll get you out.'

'Quick! Sable, Roseate! Start looking for a key!' That was Miss Barlow's voice, I was sure of it.

'Hold on!' Roseate shouted back.

'Hurry up!' Wybie yelled. I clutched Wybie more tightly.

'That was Wybie Lovat,' Roseate said, 'I'm sure of it.' The claw like hands were closing in and making grabs for us in the air.

'Please! We don't have much time left!' I cried. Suddenly the wood which we were leaning on fell. We tumbled out of what I quickly realized was the cupboard in the principal's office.

'Quick! Shut it up!' Mrs. Phils exclaimed. The three of them pushed the wood back up, receiving quite a few cuts due to the needles sticking thru, and shut the door and rapidly locked it. I just starred into space for a minute but then a grinned spread across my face. We were alive. And I had my eyes. I felt my face and touched them.

'I _love_ my eyes!' I exclaimed, grinning from ear to ear. Wybie gave a small smile. Mrs. Phils and Roseate just starred at me for a moment. Miss Barlow looked thoughtful. After a moment Mrs. Phils spoke,

'What happened to you two? You look in a right state! Coraline, you have cuts and bruises everywhere and your clothes are in tatters, your hand is burnt severely. Wybie, you're covered in cobwebs!' I hadn't really taken in Wybie's appearance before but it was true, he was. There was something in my pocket, I took it in my hand and took it out. I screamed when I saw what it was. I threw it across the room in a panic. It landed on the desk. A particularly large needle, threaded with black thread. She must've dropped it in there by accident when Wybie attacked her.

The three of them starred at it. Miss Barlow realized what it meant.

'Did she . . ? Did she . . ?' she tried to begin but didn't seem to be able.

'It was _this_ far from my eye!' I exclaimed, 'this far!' I put my finger and thumb exceptionally close together. Roseate clutched her mother to her.

'We'll take you home,' Mrs. Phils said to us, 'we only came in today to try and clear things up around here.'

'And we brought Roseate with us to make sure she was safe . . .' Miss Barlow added.

'Are you sure?' I inquired, 'We don't want to inconvenience you . . .'

'It's fine,' Mrs. Phils told us.

'Our family owes you a lot, Coraline,' Miss Barlow added. 'If it weren't for you, I wouldn't be here and nor would Roseate.' Roseate nodded shakily. 'Come on, let's get you two home.'


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter Seventeen

'Are you sure, Wybie?' Mrs. Phils asked him. He nodded.

'My grandma's probably gone to the Pink Palace to look for me,' he replied. He sounded a bit worried.

'Why are you covered in cobwebs, Wybie?' Roseate asked.

'Long story, but basically . . .' he began to explain, I began to listen, 'well, I felt something was really wrong so I snuck out again to try and get this key to get us out . . .'

'Wybie!' I exclaimed. He gave a guilty nod.

'She caught me in the act, created some cobwebs in the boiler room and stuck me to them, then gagged me. Told me what she was planning to do to you then left and locked the door. It took me a long time to free myself, fell asleep in the middle of trying. It was only when I heard you screaming, Coraline, that I was determined to free myself so I could help you which I eventually managed to do.'

'Just in time,' I told him, 'That voice you mentioned in your head, it was – it was your grandma's sister's voice wasn't it?'

'Yes, I believe you're right, Coraline,' he answered.

'Is Yalia okay?' I asked Miss Barlow.

'Well, her eyes are back but last time I saw her, she was very miserable,' she told me.

'Could we,' I asked, 'could we make a stop at the Simmons' place? I wouldn't mind seeing Yalia.'

'I can't see why not,' Mrs. Phils said. The others nodded in agreement.

* * *

Mrs. Phils stopped the car on a dirt track close to the house; it was once a cottage before extensions had been added to make it bigger. It was in the middle of a small field which had long grasses and infront of the house was a small garden which had a white fence around it. As I got out I could just about make out hanging baskets either side of the door and a small ginger girl sitting sadly in a sandpit. She was wearing the same dress which her doll had worn. I raced toward the house.

'Yalia!' I called out. She looked up from wiping a tear from one of her brown eyes and gave a shriek of delight. She rushed to the gate and out into the field. Her face was alight with happiness at seeing me. She fell over several in her rush but she didn't seem to care that she was getting grass stains and mud over her dress. She hugged me so tightly that I wondered if she would ever let go.

'You're alive, you're alive . . .' she whispered while rubbing a head against the remains of my coat, 'how did you get away?' she asked.

'Well, partly luck and partly Wybie coming to help . . .'

'And partly you?'

'I guess,' I replied with a small smile. I looked up to see Yalia's parents and her sister coming toward us. They had probably been worried that Yalia had run off.

'Y-y-you're a-a-alive?' Neila stammered, gawping at me.

'What's it look like!' Yalia answered with a cheeky grin. Their parents just smiled.

'Thank you for saving our little girl, Coraline,' her mother said, 'I don't know what we would've done . . .'

'You're welcome,' I responded.

'I still can't believe I met a real witch though!' Yalia exclaimed. She had evidently not changed that much since the encounter in the other world. Neila rolled her eyes and sighed. I got the impression that Neila was never going to hear the end of this. 'You could come inside now and tell me what happened,' Yalia said hopefully.

'Sorry, Yalia, I have to get home. Perhaps I could come over tomorrow, if your parents don't mind . . .'

'I'm sure that's fine,' her father said, 'what do you think, dear?'

'Yalia has nothing on tomorrow, as long as it's okay with Coraline's parents.' Yalia's mother replied. It seemed that their worry over Yalia had brought the parents closer again.

'Well, I'd better go,' I told them, 'I can't deny my parents much longer.'

'Bye, Coraline!' Yalia called after me. A few moments later, I heard her parents complaining about the mud and grass stains she had got on her dress. I smiled.

* * *

I slowly walked up to the door of my flat. I felt very happy, in a few moments, I would see my parents. The other four stood not far behind me. I knocked.

It was Miss Spink and Forcible who answered the door. They stared at me.

'Coraline?' they both said slowly and at the same time.

'You got my name right!' I exclaimed in surprise.

'Well of course,' Miss Forcible replied.

'Mel!' Miss Spink called, 'Mel, come quickly!' As I stepped inside, I saw my mother come into the hall. My real incredible mother!

'Mom!' I shouted, racing down the hall toward her in delight.

'Coraline!' she cried, in happiness and relief, 'My baby!' I had never seen my mother act like this before. She was normally so, worn out and so, unemotional. It was almost like she'd completely lost control. She embraced me with passion I wasn't used to. 'Oh, Coraline, I thought . . ! I was certain . . ! I'm so sorry I didn't believe you!' I looked up at her face. Her smile was so real and kind. She looked like she had been crying and it looked as if she might start again any second.

The others were slowly making their way into the house. As soon as my mother spotted Wybie she asked Miss Spink to call Miss Lovat. Apparently she had come to look for him earlier but had left shortly before we arrived. Wybie looked a little nervous.

'I need to phone your father to tell him he needs to do get more groceries,' my mother told me. She went off to make a quick call. Wybie and I went into the kitchen. It was strange that it looked so similar to the one we had been in such a short time ago. Someone knocked at the door. Miss Forcible opened the door and Miss Lovat soon came into the kitchen. Wybie looked very awkward.

'Um, hi Grandma . . .' he said nervously, not looking at her. She starred; looking from Wybie to me and back again.

'Wyborne, I told you . . . Coraline, you're . . .' she tried to begin but didn't seem to know what to say.

'Sorry, Grandma . . .' Wybie murmured.

'He was only doing what he thought was the right thing to do,' I told her quickly before she could get too annoyed.

'And you both managed to get out . . .' she said slowly and thoughtfully, 'I told you not to take the risk, Wyborne but . . .' There was a moment of silence. 'It was the right thing. Don't get me wrong, Coraline, I just thought it was better to lose one kid rather than two . . .' Although I felt slightly irritated with her, I could see where she was coming from. I gave a nod.

'I would never have got out without him,' I told her, 'he was real brave.' Wybie went a bit pink and grinned awkwardly. My mother came into the room a moment later.

'Your father will be back in an hour or two,' she told me, then took in my appearance, 'Coraline, you're in a state! I'll have to call your father again to tell him to pick up some new school uniform for you. What did that witch do to you!'

'Well, she could've done worse . . .' I mumbled. Just then, Mrs. Phils, Miss Barlow and Roseate entered the room.

I told my mother from the beginning what happened, with some help from the others. Once I'd finished I wasn't sure whether I felt better because I had got it off my chest or if I felt worse because I'd had to think about everything that had happened. When I'd finished I realized I didn't know what had become of Orto, not that I really cared. I asked Mrs. Phils if she knew.

'This may seem hard to believe,' she began, 'but it seems once the buttons are in a kids eyes, they can only last 24 hours outside the other world. We weren't exactly sure what to do with him so we had him tied up and took shifts to watch him. After one shift, we came back to find nothing but a couple of black buttons. It seems he turned to dust.'

'Quite sad in a way,' Miss Barlow added, 'the whole time, right to the very end he believed that that witch would come and get him. He may have even known about the time limit, we're not sure.'

'She forgot all about him,' I said, 'never mentioned him, just used him to get to me.'

'Indoctrinated really.' Mrs. Phils said. I didn't know what she meant but the adults obviously did as they all nodded.

'Would you like me to give you a bath, Coraline?' my mother asked me. I nodded. A bath did sound good.

* * *

For once, I didn't mind being treated like a little kid. It was really good to be getting so much attention from the adults. My mother was horrified at how bruised I was and even more horrified when she saw what behind my knees looked like; incredibly red, incredibly sore. After my bath, I rushed into the drawing room to lock the door. The adults had done their best to block it with tape and boxes. With difficulty, as I only had half a key, I locked the door.

While me and Wybie ate lunch (Mrs. Phils, Miss Barlow and Roseate had gone home), the cat came in thru the window to join us. It soon went into the drawing room and fell asleep next to the roaring fire. I kissed Wybie on the lips while I_ thought_ no-one was looking. I turned round to see Miss Lovat and my mother giggling.

My father soon arrived home. I leapt into his arms.

'Aren't you a bit big to be carried around?' he asked cheerily. My mother went to help him bring the shopping in. They insisted I didn't come and help which was fine with me. Last of all, they brought a large basket in.

'I know we said no before,' my mother told me, 'but, we reconsidered.' They put the basket next to me on the floor. It jostled a little. I looked inside. I gasped in delight. Inside was a very sweet white and brown puppy. It was adorable! I flung my arms round my parents, thanking them multiple times.

'You'll have to think of a name for her, Coraline,' my father said.

'And you'll have to train her!' my mother added.

* * *

'Ora, shut up!' I murmured with a laugh, 'stop yapping! Some of us are trying to sleep here!' The puppy paid absolutely no attention to me and continued to race around the room. I sighed with a smile. She'd get tired _eventually_.

I was so tired that I fell asleep despite the noise she was making. I opened my eyes to see Tasia above me. She was smiling.

'I'm so glad you're okay,' she told me.

'So am I,' I replied with a grin. There was a moment of silence. 'You, you knew that was gonna happen, didn't you? That the beldam would . . . That's why you got Wybie.' She nodded. 'And she would've killed me soon after, wouldn't she?'

'I don't know, actually.'

'Huh?'

'I could only see as far the buttons being sewn. Knowing her, she would've but I don't know how soon after that.'

'Why didn't the adults come and help me though?' I asked, 'I don't understand.'

'Adults can't go thru the door, they can come out if they are in the other world via the door but not go in it. It gives them electric shocks; the beldam has that much control.'

'It will be alright though, won't it?' I inquired nervously.

'It seems so, you got rid of your half of the key, didn't you?' she said. I gave a nod. 'But I can't give you a certain answer, angels can only see a few days into the future.' I smiled. She smiled to.

She began to fade away, as dreams do fade. I would wake up the next morning and go to see Yalia. Everything would be alright. At least, for the moment.


End file.
